- CDU leader calls for closure of pro-Palestine camp
After a police intervention at a pro-Palestinian protest camp on Hamburg's Moorweide, the CDU is demanding its immediate evacuation. "The intolerable antisemitic pro-Palestinian camp on the Moorweide must finally be closed and evacuated," said Dennis Thering, the state and faction leader, to the German Press Agency. It cannot be that "the increasing, also criminally relevant behavior of some participants is overlooked and the camp's permit is repeatedly extended."
The gathering, registered as a vigil under the motto "Hands off Rafah," is protesting Israel's military actions in Gaza following the Hamas terror attack. It has been on the Theodor-Heuss-Platz opposite the Dammtor station since May and was recently extended until the end of August by the assembly authority.
Over the weekend, the police were called to the camp due to reported disputes. Upon arrival, the participants denied any altercation but behaved extremely aggressively towards the officers, with one officer being lightly injured by a blow to the face.
Three protesters were initially taken into custody but later released. According to the police spokesperson, charges were filed for resistance, attempted escape, assault, and bodily harm.
What happened at the camp over the weekend, "has nothing to do with a peaceful protest covered by the right to assembly," said Thering. "That a police officer was even injured this time is unacceptable. The interior senator and mayor can no longer turn a blind eye but must finally take action."
The FDP also demands consequences. After the police intervention, the FDP state chairwoman Sonja Jacobsen spoke of "a warning sign regarding a lack of respect for the rule of law." "Whether this continuous assembly is actually fully and at this location a constitutionally protected assembly is more than questionable," she said. She also called for alternative locations to be examined: "In light of our understanding of Germany's responsibility towards Israel, we cannot allow the Moorweide, which was also a collection point for the deportation of Jews during World War II, to be used as a gathering place for anti-Israeli and anti-Semitic protests."
The police intervention at the pro-Palestinian protest camp on Saturday led to clashes with officers, with one officer being lightly injured. The Police are now investigating the charges filed against three protesters for resistance, attempted escape, assault, and bodily harm.
Given the escalating tensions and the police officer's injury, the FDP is urging the interior senator and mayor to reconsider the continuation of the camp's permit and explore alternative locations for the protest.
