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A police vehicle at a pro-Palestinian rally in front of Hamburg's main train station
Photo: Jonas Walzberg / dpa
In several German cities, people met for pro-Palestinian demonstrations on Saturday.
In Düsseldorf, many more people came than expected. According to the police, around 50 participants were registered for the event under the motto "Free Palestine". About 700 came, said a police spokeswoman in the state capital of North Rhine-Westphalia.
The people marched through the city with numerous Palestinian flags. Banners carried slogans such as "Human rights belong to all people... Save Gaza" (Save Gaza). The atmosphere was emotional, but there were no significant incidents, according to the police spokeswoman.
According to the police, around 500 people have gathered in Braunschweig for a pro-Palestinian demonstration. There were no incidents, a police spokesman said. Around 200 participants were expected.
Other cities imposed ban
Munich, on the other hand, banned a pro-Palestinian demonstration. Unlike on Friday, the ban was also observed this time, the police said. "It was nothing," a spokesman for police headquarters said in the afternoon. The potential participants were aware that the meeting had been banned. Those responsible had assured that they would not advertise the event anyway.
Munich, like other cities in Germany, had decided not to tolerate any more pro-Palestinian demonstrations. On Monday, according to the city, "several anti-Semitic statements were made at such a gathering and such statements that could also be interpreted as approval of the terrorist attacks." Criminal proceedings were therefore initiated for insult and incitement to hatred to the detriment of the Jewish population.
On Friday evening, despite the interim ban, up to 300 people had once again gathered at Munich's Odeonsplatz. Some of them had Palestinian accessories with them. According to their own statements, the police dispersed the gathering and took several people into custody.
Protests despite ban
In Frankfurt am Main, there had been protests even after a final ban on an anti-Israel rally on Saturday afternoon. Possible participants of the rally left the Opernplatz after repeated requests and expulsions, as a police spokesman said. At times, however, about 200 to 300 demonstrators continued to march through the city center, chanting: "Germany finances, Israel bombs" and "Freedom for Palestine." Substitute gatherings would not be tolerated, the police spokesman said. That's why water cannons were requested.
At the same time, there were also pro-Israel rallies in Frankfurt. Among them was an event against anti-Semitism and for solidarity with Israel. The rally with about a thousand participants, which, according to the police, initially took place without incident, had been called, among others, by the German-Israeli Society.
The Hessian Administrative Court (VGH) in Kassel ruled on Saturday that the ban imposed by the city of Frankfurt on the assembly "A Free Palestine" was valid. The court based its decision on an imminent threat to public safety following incidents at similar gatherings.
Legal back-and-forth
Violent clashes, attacks on police forces and other crimes such as incitement to hatred or public incitement to commit crimes are also to be feared at this rally, the court said. "Highly anti-Israel and anti-Semitism statements are to be expected – up to and including the negation of Israel's right to exist," the court said.
The Administrative Court of Frankfurt had ruled on Friday evening that the city's ban was unlawful. Thus, the applicant for the pro-Palestinian gathering on Opera Square was initially successful in her application for interim legal protection. The city then lodged an appeal against the decision of the Administrative Court with the Hessian Administrative Court and was successful.
Separately, the police had temporarily arrested the organizer of the demonstration on Friday. In a press statement, which was also streamed live, she denied and played down the massacres of Hamas last weekend, a police spokesman had said. It is also being investigated whether the statements made by the organiser and another person constitute incitement to hatred.
Still admitted
A pro-Palestine demonstration in Cologne, on the other hand, which was originally banned by the police, was allowed to take place on Saturday in the immediate vicinity of a pro-Israel gathering. The Cologne Administrative Court has granted the urgent application of the assembly applicant – a member of the Palestinian Community of Cologne – the police in the cathedral city announced.
The law enforcement officers had prohibited the event on the Heumarkt on Friday, justifying this with clear indications of an intensified security situation. However, the court did not follow the arguments of the police and allowed the demonstration, in which 100 participants were registered. Police Chief Falk Schnabel called on the participants to be prudent.
Shortly before the start of the demonstration, which was allowed again at short notice, several dozen pro-Palestine demonstrators were on the Heumarkt on Saturday afternoon. Meanwhile, on the other side of the square, the pro-Israel demonstration with about 200 people was already taking place. "We are on the ground with strong forces and will prevent any problems," said a police spokesman.
The reason for the demonstrations is the events in Israel. Hundreds of terrorists crossed the border into Israel last Saturday in a surprise attack on behalf of Hamas, which rules the Gaza Strip. More than 1300 people were killed there. Israel has been attacking targets in the Gaza Strip ever since. More than 2200,<> Palestinians have already been killed in the Gaza Strip.
gro / dpa