Large pro-Palestine demonstrations took place yesterday in several European capitals. According to the police, 300 thousand people participated in London, the organizers said 800 thousand. According to police, around 21,000 people took part in a pro-Palestinian demonstration in Brussels, and around 16,000 participants were reported in Paris.
Around 150 protesters were arrested in London. The reason given was that they set off fireworks and wore masks. Police said there were also several hundred counter-protesters in the city center, 82 of whom were arrested to prevent violence between the groups.
British trade unions and politicians also took part in the protest march, including former Labor Party leader Jeremy Corbyn. Recently, several politicians from the Social Democrats, traditionally friends of Palestine, resigned from their positions in protest against the refusal of the current party leader, Keir Starmer, to call for a ceasefire in the Gaza Strip.
Demonstration in Paris after an appeal from the Left Party
The much smaller demonstration in Paris followed a call from dozens of associations, unions and the left-wing La France insoumise party. Demonstrations also took place in Toulouse, Bordeaux, Lyon and Marseille.
Pro-Palestinian demonstrations also took place in Germany. In Berlin-Kreuzberg, police counted around 2,600 people before the parade began, a spokeswoman said. With songs, posters and banners, they appealed, among other things, for the freedom of Palestine and spoke of genocide taking into account Israel’s actions in the Gaza Strip.
According to police, around 2,500 people gathered at a pro-Palestinian rally in Munich in the afternoon, and around 2,000 people protested in Wuppertal, North Rhine-Westphalia. There were no incidents; around 100 people gathered in Wuppertal at the same time for a pro-Israel rally.