Pro-Palestinian Activists Rally in New York City, Chicago

Large protest rallies against Israeli violence in recent tensions with Palestinians took place in New York City and Chicago on Sunday, according to multiple reports on social networks.

MOSCOW (Sputnik) — The public actions coincide with a death toll that now stands at eight Israelis and 43 Palestinians killed in recent skirmishes, as well as knife, gun and car attacks across the Gaza Strip, the West Bank and East Jerusalem since the conflict escalated last month.

Some 2,000 activists took to the streets in New York City chanting "Free Palestine" and waving a large Palestinian banner.

"We stand against Zionist repression, and racist Zionist ideology that weighs Israeli deaths as warranting more outrage than that of Palestinians, when Palestinian deaths are greater in number and weaker in justification," rally organizers NY4Palestine movement posted to their Facebook page.

The same day, the Coalition for Justice in Palestine held a rally in Chicago with thousands protesting Israeli aggression.

At the heart of the most recent escalation lies Palestine’s suspicion that Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu seeks to revise the status quo at the Temple Mount complex housing the Al-Aqsa mosque. Current rules governing the religious shrine prevent non-Muslims from worshiping at the site, but Israeli forces conduct regular raids citing the need to protect Jewish sightseers.