Gaza war: 10 of 178 demonstrations have been banned
Since the Hamas terror attack on Israel on October 7, more than 30,000 people have already taken to the streets in the southwest - some for Israel, some for the Palestinians. The German Press Agency learned this from the Ministry of the Interior on Monday. According to the report, 178 gatherings in connection with the Middle East conflict have been registered in the country so far - 73 of them pro-Israeli and 70 pro-Palestinian. In the case of 35 demonstrations, it was not possible to determine the orientation beyond doubt.
According to the ministry, all gatherings have been largely peaceful and trouble-free. So far, ten gatherings have been banned by order of the responsible assembly authority. Almost 7000 police officers have been deployed so far to protect freedom of assembly.
In connection with the Gaza war, crimes and actions in the low three-digit range have been reported to a specially set up information collection point. The crimes mainly involve damaging or removing Israel flags and smearing paint with inciting content. "Physical assaults and direct confrontations are still rare," the ministry stated. The majority of the crimes and actions recorded to date are directed against Israel.
Interior Minister Thomas Strobl (CDU) said that the assembly authorities and the police would continue to consistently exhaust all legal possibilities to prevent assemblies where the borderline to anti-Semitism is crossed.
Despite the largely peaceful demonstrations, some conflicts between pro-Israeli and pro-Palestinian groups have arisen, leading to instances of flag damage and paint smearings with inciting content. The war in Gaza has also sparked war-related demonstrations, resulting in ten demonstrations being banned due to potential breaches of peace.
Source: www.dpa.com
