Berlin [Germany], September 14: Police said that at least 12,000 people gathered to attend a rally held under the banner "Stop the genocide in Gaza" in central Berlin on Saturday.
Organizers estimated the crowd at around 20,000 participants. The event in the government district concluded at about 4.30pm (1430 GMT) and, according to a police spokeswoman, proceeded largely without incident.
German lawmaker Sahra Wagenknecht, who leads the eponymous, populist Sahra Wagenknecht Alliance (BSW) was co-organizer of the demonstration.
Many people carried flags with the peace dove. Palestinian flags were also waved. There were isolated cries of "Free Palestine." People carried posters demanding peace and negotiations instead of arms deliveries.
Nothing justifies the murder and bombing of the people in Gaza, said Wagenknecht. "Every war is a crime," she said, earning applause.
English musician Roger Waters, co-founder of the rock band Pink Floyd, expressed his views in a video message from New York. Other prominent German artists and public figures also spoke at the rally.
Ahead of the protest, Wagenknecht had rejected accusations of anti-Semitism levelled at Waters, who has faced protests and criticism at his concerts over his support for the Boycott, Divestment, and Sanctions (BDS) movement promoting pressure on Israel over its conduct in the occupied Palestinian Territories.
"I don't believe that criticism of the Israeli government should be labelled anti-Semitic," said Wagenknecht, whose party, only founded early last year, has sunk into relative oblivion after failing to enter parliament in Germany's February elections.
Unlike the conservative-led government in Berlin, Wagenknecht has repeatedly described Israel's military campaign in Gaza, which came in response to the Hams-led October 7 attacks, as genocide of the Palestinians.
Israel rejects such accusations, justifying the ongoing attacks on the devastated coastal territory as necessary to free the remaining hostages and eliminate Hamas. However, a number of governments as well as aid organizations have said the scale of the attacks and the resulting suffering is in no way justifiable.
On the other side of the Brandenburg Gate, a pro-Israel counter-demonstration took place in the afternoon. A DPA reporter counted about 20 to 30 participants.
The Gaza demonstration in the government district is also generally directed against arms deliveries to war zones and against more armament in Germany.
It calls on the government to work for peace negotiations and a two-state solution in the Middle East and for diplomacy in the Ukraine war.
Berlin police deployed some 1,000 officers for this even and other demonstrations planned in the city on Saturday, a spokesperson said.
Source: Qatar Tribune
