Protests over the Middle East conflict
Riots in Berlin and other cities – police sometimes intervene with water cannons
There are once again clashes with demonstrators in Berlin because of the Middle East conflict. Pro-Palestinian rallies had been banned several times
© dts news agency / Imago Images
The escalation in the Middle East conflict is driving people onto the streets in Berlin and other German cities. Emergency services are again pelted with bottles, stones and fireworks. The police chief speaks of a tense situation.
Despite a ban on pro-Palestinian demonstrations, crowds and clashes broke out again in Berlin-Neukölln on Wednesday evening. The Police spoke of a heated atmosphere on Sonnenallee. Pyrotechnics were being set off and stones and bottles were being thrown at police officers, the police said on the platform X, formerly Twitter. “The situation in North Neukölln is tense,” said Berlin police chief Barbara Slowik in the RBB evening show.
“We definitely have several hundred people on the streets in Sonnenallee,” said Slowik. “Tonight we can expect that smaller and larger groups will be out on the streets, chanting and perhaps committing crimes,” she said. As was the case the night before, the police were also on duty with water cannons. “We are clearly taking action,” emphasized the police chief.
Pro-Palestinian demonstration banned in Berlin
The police told There is resistance to arresting suspects, so the police have to “use direct force”. The demonstrators were clearly participants in a replacement event for a pro-Palestinian rally, which was also banned.
A dpa reporter spoke of an aggressive mood. The situation is very dynamic, said a police spokesman. According to the dpa reporter’s observations, there were dozens of arrests.
“We see people randomly throwing objects onto the street, lighting them on fire and filming themselves and celebrating,” the police said on X. A fire was started on a balcony by throwing pyrotechnics, which police officers extinguished. The head of operations gave permission for a water cannon to extinguish a fire on a container.
People gather at the Foreign Office
According to police, several hundred people also gathered at the Foreign Office. According to the police, the gathering against violence in the Middle East was ended directly by the organizer because she had no influence on the participants. 50 participants were registered. Several hundred came.
It was only on Wednesday night that riots broke out at pro-Palestinian rallies, especially in Neukölln. It was said that 20 police officers were injured. Two would have had to quit the service. According to the police, 39 people were arrested and 65 criminal cases were initiated. In addition, 12 administrative offenses were registered.
Protests about the Middle East conflict also take place in other cities
In Frankfurt am Main, police used a water cannon to break up a banned pro-Palestinian vigil. The main station was evacuated, as the police announced on X on Wednesday evening. A police spokesman confirmed this. “The isolated people who did not comply with the request were taken away by the emergency services.”
The city of Frankfurt had already issued a ban order during the afternoon, said the spokesman. Any alternative events are also prohibited. “Those who nevertheless want to take part here are violating the applicable law. So their identities are now being determined.”
In Bremerhaven, around 450 people gathered for a rally under the motto “Peace in the Middle East”. The police spoke of a peaceful incident. Smaller spontaneous gatherings were reported in Kassel and Heidelberg.
The Hamburg police have extended the ban on pro-Palestinian rallies through Sunday. The authority announced this on Wednesday evening. This affects “all unregistered and not officially confirmed assemblies whose content is related to support for Hamas or its attacks on the territory of Israel (so-called pro-Palestinian assemblies).” The police, as the assembly authority, imposed the ban with a general order last Sunday; it initially applied until Wednesday.