In scenes eerily reminiscent of the dystopian film Children of Men, the ethnoreligious tinderbox that Europe has become was on full display over the weekend as massive numbers of pro-Palestinian demonstrators flooded the streets of its major cities. Protesters demanded a halt to Israel’s military operations in Gaza that came in reaction to the rampage last weekend by Islamist militant group Hamas.
Across the continent and beyond—in Germany, Sweden, Poland, the UK, Ireland, Italy, Switzerland, the Netherlands, and elsewhere—tens of thousands of livid, and sometimes violent protesters occupied squares and streets, in some cases in defiance of bans on demonstrations.
This weekend’s demonstrations come one week after Islamo-Leftists across the West celebrated after Hamas militants, in an unprecedented incursion out of Gaza, stormed communities in Israel, killing some 700 people, injuring thousands, and taking dozens of hostages.
As of Sunday, October 15th, some 1,400 people have been killed and more than 120 Israelis have been kidnapped since Hamas’ initial onslaught, according to statements from Israel’s Prime Minister’s Office. The Gaza Health Ministry, meanwhile, reports that 2,329 Palestinians have died since the beginning of the new conflict.
In the United Kingdom, amid warnings from the authorities that anyone showing public support for Hamas—which has been designated as a terrorist organization by the EU, UK, U.S., and others—could face arrest, demonstrations went ahead in London, Manchester, Edinburgh, Glasgow, and Belfast.
One pro-Israel activist, 46-year-old Vahid Beheshti, a British-Iranian, was apparently threatened with beheading by a pro-Palestinian protestor as he stood outside of the UK’s Foreign Office building with an Israeli flag on Saturday, October 14th.
Beheshti recounted the encounter to the press, saying: “They wanted to kill me. I had the Israeli flag. They pushed me. I ran to them and pushed them back. Every day I think this is my last day. We got attacked three times. They were chanting to me, they wanted to kill me. The first time they attacked they ripped the Israeli flag and then 60 police officers were protecting me.”
Tempers flared in Northern Ireland’s capital of Belfast as well, as thousands of pro-Palestinian demonstrators marched through the city center and traded insults with a small group of individuals holding Israeli flags. Security personnel were forced to separate the two groups to avoid violent clashes.
Pat Sheehan, a left-wing populist from Sinn Fein, was among the leading marchers at the demonstration. Speaking to the angry mob, he said:
One would be forgiven for thinking it is the Israelis who are living under occupation, rather than the Palestinians. It is clear to all of us here that those governments that demand the implementation of international law in other conflicts are totally silent when Palestinians are being slaughtered in their thousands. Israel has been given a carte blanche to act outside international law and the basic rules of warfare.
To the east, across the North Sea, in the heart of Scandinavia, similar scenes unfolded in two of Sweden’s largest cities, Stockholm and Malmö.
On Friday and Saturday, protestors gathered in Stockholm to air their grievances. Following Friday’s afternoon Islamic prayer, smaller numbers of demonstrators gathered outside of a mosque in Stockholm. Video footage of the protest captured protestors shouting: “Stop killing our children.”
The following day, members from the antisemitic Nordic Resistance Movement, a group that has burned Qurans in the past, convened alongside pro-Palestinian demonstrators at Sergel’s square in central Stockholm to express their contempt for the state of Israel. While pro-Palestinian Muslims chanted about “crushing Zionism,” members from the Nordic Resistance Movement held up a banner with the same message.
A demonstration considerably larger in scope was held in the heavily multicultural city of Malmö on the same day.
Meanwhile, in the heart of continental Europe, despite German authorities having banned several pro-Palestinian demonstrations, some went ahead anyway. Police in Frankfurt and Munich, for example, failed to enforce a ban on pro-Palestinian demonstrations on Saturday, October 14th. Berlin, Düsseldorf, and Hamburg also saw pro-Palestinian protests. In Berlin, protesters clashed with police, resulting in three arrests. Police in Hamburg had to intervene to maintain order as well.
By far the largest protest over the week took place in the Dutch capital Amsterdam. According to a report from the state-run Nederlandse Omroep Stichting (NOS), some 15,000 pro-Palestinian protesters assembled at Dam Square in the city center on Sunday afternoon. Some were head shouting slogans like: “We sacrifice our souls and blood for the martyrs” and ”There is no god but Allah, a martyr is loved by Allah.”
The fury precipitated by the ongoing events in the Middle East has not been contained to Western Europe. Even Poland, a largely monocultural country with negligible Islamic presence, saw hundreds take part in a pro-Palestinian march in the cultural capital of Kraków. Participants were seen holding up placards with slogans that read: “End the Holocaust of Palestinians,” “Ghetto Gaza,” and “Jerusalem is the eternal capital of Palestine.”
In one video, protestors can be heard chanting: “From the [Jordan] river to the [Mediterranean] sea, Palestine will be free,” which some have argued is a call to wipe Israel off of the map.
