On the first anniversary of the Hamas massacre in Israel, hundreds of people demonstrate in Kreuzberg and demand “solidarity with Palestine.” Greta Thunberg is also there.
Greta Thunberg is considered a vocal advocate for climate protection. With her “Fridays for future” movement, she is demanding more efforts from those in power in the world to combat man-made climate change. But for a year now, this commitment has taken a back seat to another of Thunberg’s struggles. The fight against Israel’s war on terror in the Middle East.
Thunberg condemned the Israeli military actions in the Gaza Strip early on – without clearly distancing himself from the violent acts of Hamas. On the anniversary of the massacre of more than 1,200 people in Israel and the abduction and murder of hundreds of hostages, Thunberg joined a demonstration in Berlin in which, according to observers, anti-Israel voices and some anti-Semitic voices could be heard.
Several hundred people demonstrated at various locations in Berlin on Monday, October 7th. This was also the case at Berlin’s Südstern, a subway station in the Kreuzberg district. The motto of the rally was “Solidarity with Palestine.” Right in the middle: 21-year-old Thunberg.
Photos show Thunberg walking along in the protest procession wearing a face mask, willingly stopping for photos with demo participants and chatting with some of them. The prominent activist poses with a Palestinian scarf and makes the victory sign.
The Swede was not ready to comment, as the “Tagesspiegel” reports. Accordingly, Thunberg was shielded by several colleagues. Critics accuse Thunberg of taking one-sided pro-Palestinian positions in the Gaza war and the events that triggered it.
Among other things, participants in the demonstration are said to have shouted hate slogans and thrown stones and fireworks at police officers, as the “Bild” newspaper reports. Police also used pepper spray against aggressive demonstrators.
The Berlin “Tagesspiegel” reports that some demonstrators resisted the dispersal of the protest march. Accordingly, the police are said to have had great difficulty getting the participants to leave the meeting location, also because the officers were repeatedly surrounded by protesters.
The demonstrators chanted: “Viva, viva Palestine.” Many wore so-called Palestinian scarves and waved the corresponding flags. A man with a megaphone cheered on the demonstrators: “Yalla yalla Intifada,” “Stop the mass murder” and “Israel is terror state.”
The slogan “From the river to the sea, Palestine will be free” was also heard several times. It refers to the area between the Jordan River and the Mediterranean Sea. The Islamist Hamas understands that the state of Israel should disappear. According to the Federal Ministry of the Interior, the slogan is banned in Germany if it is used as a symbol of Hamas.
Video | Barricades and burning tires: riots in Berlin-Neukölln
There were further riots in Berlin in the early evening and at night. In Neukölln, around 50 people built barricades and set tires on fire late on Monday evening, the police said. On platform The police were initially unable to say whether the riots were related to the pro-Palestinian demonstration. The situation was quickly brought under control.