Police take a strict line
Tens of thousands in pro-Palestinian demonstrations
November 4th, 2023, 8:09 p.m
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The police intervened right at the beginning of pro-Palestinian demonstrations in Berlin and Düsseldorf. Posters are confiscated and advertisements are made. In the city in North Rhine-Westphalia, the police counted a good 17,000 participants – around twice as many as in the capital.
Tens of thousands of people took to the streets in pro-Palestinian demonstrations in several cities. In Berlin The police counted 8,500 participants by evening. The officers checked individual demonstrators. Some posters that violated the requirements were painted over or taken down. A police spokeswoman explains that arrests and other measures were carried out in the low double-digit range. Also in Dusseldorf During a protest, the police confiscated several posters that put the Holocaust into perspective. There would be criminal proceedings against it, it was said. Here the police put the number of participants at almost 17,000. According to their own statements, the officials had to intervene occasionally, but spoke of an overall peaceful outcome.
In the capital, participants carried Palestine flags and posters with slogans such as “Stop the genocide in Gaza” or “From the river to the sea – we demand equality” – translated: From the river to the sea, we demand equality for everyone. 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. The demonstration will take 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.
“Repeated commission of such offenses can lead to the dissolution of a meeting very early on,” he said. 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. The demonstration was supposed to lead through the city center near the banks of the Rhine.
1000 police officers in Berlin
In Duisburg Less than a hundred people took part in a pro-Palestinian rally in front of the main train station. The police filed three criminal charges against participants for incitement to hatred and condoning crimes. In Muenster There were around 250 people on the streets demanding the rights of Palestinians. In the afternoon, the police spoke of a peaceful incident. The move led from the main train station to the city center.
Several pro-Palestinian groups nationwide have called for the protest march. “Many from the left-wing political spectrum who have already called for the “revolutionary May 1st demonstration” this year also mobilized,” the police in Berlin said.
A large contingent of more than 1,000 police officers were deployed at several locations in Berlin – in addition to the large pro-Palestinian rally, also in connection with other, smaller rallies. This also included forces from other federal states. Jewish organizations online called on their members to be careful and for the police to step up their protection of Jewish institutions in Berlin’s city center.