Hundreds of thousands protest in Amsterdam against Gaza war

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1. AMSTERDAM, Oct 5 (Reuters) – Hundreds of thousands of protesters marched through Amsterdam on Sunday, calling for the Dutch government to take a tougher stance against Israel’s war in Gaza.

   Organisers estimated that around 250,000 people joined the demonstration – a figure supported by local police. Most wore red to signal their support for a symbolic “red line” against Israel’s siege of Gaza.

   The ‘red line march’ followed a similar massive protest in The Hague in May, and was planned weeks ahead of the announcement by U.S. President Donald Trump of his plan to end the war. The PAX Netherlands organisers said they hoped for peace in Gaza, but added that Trump’s plan had not changed their resolve.

   Protesters of all ages weathered the rain to join a 6-kilometre (3.7 miles) march through the Dutch capital, waving Palestinian flags, chanting “Free, free Palestine” and carrying signs reading “Israel shame on you!” and “we are not free until Gaza is free”.

   >THOUSANDS MARCH THROUGH AMSTERDAM FOR GAZA SOLIDARITY

   “We are here to condemn everything that is happening in Gaza,” said 27-year old Emilia Rivero, who travelled from the central city of Utrecht. “I feel this is the least we can do, seeing the horrors in Gaza.”

   Organisers said the Dutch government was not doing enough to stop Israel from committing war crimes in Gaza and demanded action from politicians, just over three weeks before the Netherlands heads to the polls for a general election on October 29.

   “We hope there will be a real ceasefire very, very soon and people will be protected, receive humanitarian aid, and be able to be safe. But we are also worried about the long-term commitment of Israel to stop the genocide,” PAX Netherlands director Rolien Sasse told Reuters.
   “We want our government to put pressure on the Israeli government, to make sure that there is a ceasefire.”
   Israel dismisses accusations of genocide as baseless and says its operations in Gaza are self-defence and targeted at Hamas militants who attacked Israel on October 7, 2023.

2. A very impressive turn out. And it makes us all scattered around the EU feel that together we can bring serious sanctions onto the genociders in Israel.

   And throw them out of every international sport and competition. We did it to Russia and now we must finally do it to Israel.

3. It takes time to take down oppressive regimes. We saw it in Apartheid South Africa, we saw it with Nazi Germany. Empires come and go, it’s just that our lifetimes are so minuscule that we can never really comprehend the bigger picture.

   A couple years ago, no one was talking about Palestine despite the ongoing illegal occupation and the myriad of war crimes committed by Israeli settlers and their military, which forces a significant portion of their population to become complicit in numerous international law violations over decades.

   But now, we’re seeing major shifts in opinion, across the globe, across racial, religious, ethnic lines, across social classes. People who used to be neutral or silent are now speaking up.

   It’s kinda crazy how the dominos lined up. Hamas didn’t make a peep for two years before oct 7th. They simply let Israel set the stage, which in 2022 resulted in Israel electing the most racist, fascist and extremist coalition of governments in Israel’s history (which is pretty crazy considering that Israel has elected former terrorist leaders as PM before: begin and shamir).

   Now 2 years later here we are. Hamas on a brink of disarmament, Israel isolated more than ever before, and everyone’s eyes are locked on Palestine.

4. I’m confused. There is a thorough peace plan backed by regional powers, the US, key international players, and even the PA being actively negotiated right now to end the war. Are they marching in support of that plan?

5. Great, while European country is in war against Russia and it is quite big threat to whole Europe, there are protests in Netherlands about some war 4000km away.

   I guess it is not trendy anymore to support Ukraine, so they jumped to the Palestine train so they can feel better about themself.

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