Demonstrators protest Mideast violence

Pro-Palestinian demonstrators flood the streets of Rabat, Morocco Sunday.

RABAT, Morocco (CNN) -- Tens of thousands of pro-Palestinian demonstrators took to the streets in cities worldwide Sunday to protest the continuing violence in the Middle East, while thousands of pro-Israeli demonstrators rallied in Paris and New York.

From Athens to Sydney to Jakarta, protesters chanted anti-Israeli slogans and called for an end to the fighting.

In Morocco, march organizers estimated that between 200,000 and 300,000 crowded the streets of the capital, Rabat. But police estimated the figure at nearer 45,000.

Protesters there shouted, "Allah Akbar (God is the greatest) ... We want the jihad (holy war)... Sharon is a butcher. America! America, enough wars ... America enemy of peoples!"

Many marchers brandished Palestinian flags and images of Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat, while young children held pictures of Palestinian suicide bombers, and waved the flags of Lebanon and the militant group Hezbollah, which the United States has labeled a terrorist organization.

Demonstrations in Indonesia, Australia

CNN NewsPass VIDEO CNN's Brian Palmer reports on a pro-Palestinian gathering and a counterprotest from Israel supporters in Manhattan (April 6) Play video

Similar protests were held in other cities in the region and farther away.

In Jakarta, Indonesia, about 5,000 demonstrators -- most from the Muslim Justice Party -- gathered around a monument across from the presidential palace in the world's most populous Muslim nation Sunday, denouncing the Israeli offensive, burning Israeli flags and chanting anti-American slogans.

In Sydney, Australia, about 5,000 activists marched, shouting "Free Palestine" and waving flags and placards toward the Israeli and U.S. consulates.

Two police officers received minor injuries when they were hit by projectiles thrown by protesters during the confrontation, a police spokeswoman told Reuters.

In Dortmund, Germany, 2,400 people marched through the city center in a demonstration organized by the local Palestinian community. Another 1,500 demonstrators marched to the central square in Bonn, Germany, in support of the Palestinians.

In Athens, Greece, about 1,000 pro-Palestinian protesters rallied outside the Israeli embassy before marching to the U.S. mission.

Israeli supporters also hit the streets

Pro-Israeli protesters also took to the streets Sunday, condemning Arafat and backing Prime Minister Ariel Sharon.

Thousands of demonstrators rallied near U.N. headquarters in New York, peacefully supporting the Israeli military action in the West Bank, waving Israeli flags, chanting "Arafat must go," and carrying signs reading "Arafat = bin Laden." Police said there were no arrests or injuries.

The rally followed two sizable pro-Palestinian protests in New York -- a march on city hall Saturday by more than 1,000 people and a demonstration of up to 2,000 people Friday in Times Square.

In Paris, an estimated 150,000 people marched Sunday to denounce a wave of attacks on Jewish schools, synagogues and cemeteries in France. (Full story)