War in the Middle East: Thousands demonstrate peacefully in NRW
At least 2,000 people took part in a Jewish-Palestinian peace demonstration in Cologne on Sunday to call for an end to the violence in the Middle East. The event was held under the motto "Solidarity with all people affected by the Israel-Palestine war". The organizers had registered 1000 participants. However, a police spokesperson said on Sunday that around twice as many people turned up. The organizers spoke of 3000 participants.
The demonstration was organized by the group "Jews and Palestinians for Peace". The two organizers, Kristina Bublevskaya and Zeynep Karaosman, have Jewish and Palestinian roots respectively. They had previously emphasized that they were on the side of the civilians affected. The atmosphere at the rally was very good, said a spokeswoman when asked by the German Press Agency. Flags had been expressly dispensed with. "There are no camps, we want peace."
More than 1,000 people took part in a peaceful pro-Palestinian demonstration in Düsseldorf on Saturday. The march through the city center to the state parliament, with up to 1,500 participants at its peak, also passed off without any notable incidents, the police reported. Several reports were filed for violations of the Assembly Act and suspected incitement of the people. The organizer had registered around 1000 participants under the motto "Stop the aggression".
A rally also took place in the center of Düsseldorf on Saturday afternoon with around 120 participants. A report was filed. According to a dpa reporter, most of the participants were doctors with Palestinian roots working in Germany who were calling for an end to the violence. A third gathering of 60 people in the state capital also remained without incident, according to police reports.
In Münster, 150 people attended a pro-Palestinian event on Saturday, which ended peacefully according to the police. The gathering had been limited to a stand-up rally; the organizer had originally planned a march into the city centre. Officials filed a criminal complaint because a speaker had glorified the terrorist organization Hamas in his speech.
In Aachen, 120 people gathered for a silent march for peace "in memory of the victims in the Middle East". People who were not part of the gathering attempted to distribute flyers with allegedly criminal content, which was stopped and reported to the police.
The escalating conflicts in the Middle East led to numerous demonstrations, with the event in Cologne drawing around 3,000 people, as organizers reported. Tensions were high at some of these protests, resulting in incidents where violation of the Assembly Act and suspected incitement were reported.
Source: www.dpa.com
