Amid ongoing Israeli attacks on the Gaza Strip, demonstrations advocating for the rights of Palestinians and urging peace persist in various European cities, notably London, Berlin, and Paris, even in the face of prohibitions.
Following Hamas’ attacks, as Israel continues its intense bombardment of Gaza, the Israeli military announced that it struck 320 points in Gaza on Sunday night and early Monday morning. This marks the most extensive air operation since October 7th. With the recent air strikes, the number of casualties in Gaza has risen to 5,087, with 2,055 of them being children and 1,119 being women. The total number of injured individuals is close to 15,000.
The largest pro-Palestinian demonstrations in Europe took place in London, the capital of the United Kingdom. According to estimates by the London police, around 100,000 people participated in the protest, chanting “Free Palestine,” carrying banners, and waving Palestinian flags.
In The Hague, Netherlands, an activist group called Extinction Rebellion stormed the International Criminal Court (ICC) and protested the Israeli attacks on the Gaza Strip. Activists held a banner reading “Netanyahu is a war criminal”. Authorities announced that 19 activists were detained during the protest and stated that the activists were released after a short detention period.
More than 30 thousand people gathered in Paris, the capital of France, calling for a ceasefire in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. Reacting to the French government’s efforts to prevent demonstrations in support of Palestine, the crowd observed a minute of silence for the Palestinians who lost their lives. The organisers announced that tens of thousands of people participated in the demonstration, including prominent French politicians such as Jean-Luc Melenchon and Mathilde Panot, Deputy Chairwoman of the Parliamentary Group of the Unbowed France (LFI) Party.
In Rome, the capital of Italy, hundreds of protestors called for an end to Israel’s airstrikes on Gaza. Despite a demonstration ban by the Berlin police, hundreds of protestors marched in the capital of Germany. Initially, German police surrounded the demonstrators, but eventually allowed the march to continue. German Interior Minister Nancy Faeser stated last week that more than 1,100 people are under investigation for violating the law in connection with the Israel-Gaza conflict since the attack carried out by Hamas at the beginning of this month.
“We want to be the voice of peace”
Around a hundred people gathered near the old port of Marseille in the south of France to call for peace between Israel and the Palestinians.
Kamel Fassatoui, president of the local Emmaus branch, which organised the rally together with the League for Human Rights in Bouches-du-Rhône (LDH), said they wanted to “make their voices heard in Marseille” and to fight “against this growing climate of anxiety”.
Addressing the public at the demonstration, Fassatoui said, “This is not about taking sides. We want to be the voice of peace. We need to put pressure on our politicians.”
Amnesty International: Right to protest must be protected
Responding to the mounting restrictions being placed by several authorities in Europe on protests defending Palestinian human rights, Esther Major, Amnesty International’s Deputy Director for Research in Europe, said:
“The devastating consequences of Israel’s bombing and illegal blockade on Gaza are understandably compelling many people in Europe to protest for the rights of Palestinians. Yet, in many European countries, the authorities are unlawfully restricting the right to protest. Measures range from those targeting certain chants, Palestinian flags and signs, to subjecting protesters to police brutality and arrest. In some cases, protests have been banned altogether.
“For example, authorities in Germany banned the vast majority of protests for Palestinian rights, and on Tuesday France’s government was told by the highest administrative court that it could not impose a blanket ban on all demonstrations in support of Palestinians.”
“In the UK there were concerns that letters sent by government ministers were attempting to influence police chiefs, or would be used by schools and college leaders as pretexts to unduly restrict freedom of expression or association. Amnesty International has called on all politicians to be responsible in their use of language and avoid using divisive rhetoric.”
“In Switzerland, this coming weekend all demonstrations related to the conflict have been banned in Zurich, and in the canton of Basel-Stadt, and in Bern, bans have been brought in on all demonstrations.”
“States have a legal obligation to ensure that people are able to peacefully express their grief, concerns and their solidarity. With a number of protests planned for this weekend we call on authorities across Europe to protect and facilitate everyone’s right to express themselves and peacefully assemble.”