Rallies about the war in Israel
Thousands at pro-Palestinian demonstrations in Berlin and Düsseldorf – investigations in Essen
Watch the video: Pro-Palestinian demonstration in Berlin attracts around 10,000 people.
In Berlin on Saturday, thousands of people took to the streets to support the concerns of the Palestinians. According to police, the demonstration was largely peaceful. According to the Berlin security forces, around 11,000 participants gathered at the pro-Palestinian demonstration in Berlin-Kreuzberg. Many participants carried banners condemning Israel’s attacks on the Palestinian-inhabited Gaza Strip. Israel is currently responding to the attack on the country by the radical Islamic Palestinian group Hamas on October 7th. The fighting in the Gaza Strip has been going on for three weeks. The Israeli army’s ground operations against Hamas fighters have recently been further expanded. According to aid organizations, the humanitarian situation for the civilian population in the Gaza Strip is catastrophic. Since Friday, residents in the coastal strip have hardly had any contact with the outside world. The electricity, telephone and internet connections have been largely out since Friday evening.
Even after the Islamist rally in Essen, people in various German cities took to the streets for Palestine. The police threaten to take drastic measures for the slightest violation of the rules.
Thousands of people took to the streets in several German cities during pro-Palestinian rallies. In Essen, after a rally on Friday evening that was registered as a pro-Palestine demonstration, the police are checking whether crimes were committed. At the rally, banners were displayed, among other things, calling for the establishment of an Islamist caliphate. For example, Hizb ut-Tahrir, which has been banned from operating since 2003, is calling for this. In Berlin, the police counted around 6,000 people at a rally on Saturday afternoon. The officials checked the personal details of individual participants. Some posters that violated the requirements were painted over or taken down.
At the rally in Essen it became clear that the pro-Palestine theme had been a pretext for the rally, a police spokesman said on Saturday. The aim was to hold a religious event on the streets of Essen. During the rally, the police did not find any criminal violations in chants, symbols and flags. The demonstration was registered by a private individual. “We will examine everything carefully afterwards,” said the spokesman. It will be examined together with the public prosecutor’s office whether there is any criminal relevance.
Police warn of crimes at rally
In Berlin, Palestine flags and posters with slogans such as “Stop the genocide in Gaza” and “From the river to the sea – we demand equality” could be seen at the demonstration. Translated: From the river to the sea, we demand equality for all. This refers to the Jordan River and the Mediterranean Sea. A speaker called for an end to the “apartheid culture” and a stop to the bombings in Gaza. Several pro-Palestinian groups called for the demonstration. “Many from the left-wing political spectrum who have already called for the “revolutionary May 1st demonstration” this year also mobilized,” according to the police.
The demonstration took place under strict conditions. Operations manager Stephan Katte emphasized in advance that anyone who denies Israel’s right to exist is committing a crime that will be punished immediately. “A repeated commission of such crimes can lead to the dissolution of a meeting very early on,” Katte told the German Press Agency. According to the police, any statements that are anti-Semitic, anti-Israel and that glorify violence or terror are prohibited.
In Düsseldorf, too, the police announced low-threshold and consistent intervention in the event of crimes at a demonstration with thousands of participants. Before it began, the police seized several posters that put the Holocaust into perspective. There will be criminal proceedings against this.
Central Council of Muslims: “Be careful where you walk”
The Central Council of Muslims in Germany condemned anti-Semitic incidents at pro-Palestinian demonstrations and called for caution when taking part in rallies. There are “very clear violations, anti-Semitic violations of hatred of Jews,” said Central Council Chairman Aiman Mazyek on Deutschlandfunk on Saturday. “They must be punished.” He appealed to Muslims: “Be careful where you follow.” There are groups that use such demonstrations to chant slogans against Jews and anti-Semitism. “We don’t have to have it like that.”
On October 7, Islamists from Hamas, which rules the Gaza Strip, and other terrorists carried out a massacre of civilians in Israel. Since then, Israel’s army has been using air strikes and ground troops against targets in the sealed-off coastal area.