- The Palestinian solidarity encampment is discontinuing its operations.
The anti-Israel protest site, popularly known as the "Stand with Gaza" camp, situated adjacent to Hamburg's Dammtor train station, is being dismantled following a period of four months. The organizer announced the camp's closure by Wednesday, as reported by a police spokesperson to DPA (Deutsche Presse-Agentur). By midnight, all political banners must be erased from Theodor-Heuss-Platz. The dismantling process apparently started in the afternoon.
The camp was initially established as a nightly vigil, tagged with the slogan "Save Rafah," on May 6, at Moorweide. It followed Israel's military actions following the extraordinary Hamas attack on October 7. Posters blamed Israel for expulsion, occupation, and apartheid, while advocating for resistance. Disarmament of Israel was also the key demand.
Various groups, including "Hamburg Students for Palestine" (Students for Palestine) and the pro-Palestinian group "Thawra" ("Revolution"), supported the camp. Per Hamburg's constitutional protection office, radical left-wing activists also utilized the protest for their purposes.
Multiple calls were made to ban the camp, including from the CDU and FDP. The Hamburg Israelitic Temple Association also urged an immediate ban. The police pointed out that the assembly authority can only issue a ban if, for instance, personal safety, health, or valuable property is at risk. This is based on the right to assembly guaranteed by Article 8 of the Basic Law, which is considered a fundamental democratic principle according to legal rulings.
Only lately, the continuation of the assembly until mid-September was endorsed by the authority. The reason behind the organizer ending the assembly earlier than planned remained unclear until recently.
The dismantling of the "Stand with Gaza" protest camp, which had been a daily presence at Theodor-Heuss-Platz since its nightly vigil establishment on May 6, will leave a void for supporters of the Palestinian cause. Despite the various groups, such as "Hamburg Students for Palestine" and "Thawra," advocating for its continuation, the organizer decided to dismantle the protest camp prematurely, turning the once vibrant protest camp into a memory.
