Thousands gather in Berlin for pro-Palestinian protest
About 6,000 people attended the pro-Palestinian demonstration in central Berlin at 15:00 local time (1400 UTC) and the crowd was expected to grow, police said.
Police said the identities of individual attendees were checked and posters that violated regulations were removed.
According to the Agence France-Presse (AFP) news agency, the banners at the rally included slogans such as “liberate Gaza”, “stop the genocide” and “ceasefire”.
Police said they feared tensions at the demonstration after Germany banned activities linked to Hamas’ militant Islamist group and the Samidun association, which is accused of celebrating Hamas’ October 7 attack on southern Israel.
Germany classifies Hamas as a terrorist organization, as do some other countries, including Israel and the United States.
Meanwhile, police said about 17,000 people attended the pro-Palestinian demonstration in the city of Düsseldorf in the state of North Rhine-Westphalia.
Police said only 1,000 people were initially registered for the protest by a private individual.
While officers said they had to intervene in individual cases, a police spokesman said the demonstration was generally peaceful.
Police said they seized posters relativizing the Holocaust and filed several reports of incitement.
news source (www.nationalheraldindia.com)
