Speaking after the European Parliament debate on Gaza where a statement was made on behalf of High Representative of the EU, Catherine Ashton, Socialist Party / United Left Alliance MEP Paul Murphy who participated in the 2011 Flotilla in order to break the siege of Gaza commented:
Protests sparked by an anti-Islam movie trailer made in the US have spilled over more than 20 countries across the Middle East, Africa, South East Asia, countries with important Muslim communities, as well as a few other parts of the world. While a number of these marches - mostly aimed at American embassies and symbols - were peaceful, in several places they turned violent, leaving around a dozen people dead and hundreds injured.