More than 600 people rallied in the southern Bulgarian town of Madan Friday afternoon in protest against the continuing Israeli air strikes in the Gaza Strip.

Most of the participants came to the rally right after they attended the Madan mosque for the Friday prayer. Many of the 7 000 inhabitants of the town are Muslims. The peaceful protest rally was organized at the initiative of the local Muslim trusteeship.

The protesters agreed on a declaration calling upon the Bulgarian institutions to be as active as possible in order to contribute to the settlement of the conflict.

"The world governments must know that the fight against terrorism cannot be equal to the murder of millions of Muslims, and that this is just exacerbating the tragedy and bloodshed in the Middle East region", the declaration reads.

The protesters carried posters and banners written in Bulgarian, English, and Arab, stating "Islam Is Peace, Not War" and "Stop the War in Gaza". Many of them said they believed that the present conflict in the Gaza Strip amounted to a clear-cut aggression on part of Israel. The rally concluded with a prayer for peace.

This is the second protest rally in Bulgaria against the Middle East conflict. On December 30, 2008, several hundred Palestinians, Arabs, and Bulgarians staged a rally in downtown Sofia protesting against Israel's air strikes in the Gaza Strip.

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