{"id":203662,"date":"2025-06-21T22:57:14","date_gmt":"2025-06-21T22:57:14","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/203662\/"},"modified":"2025-06-21T22:57:14","modified_gmt":"2025-06-21T22:57:14","slug":"tens-of-thousands-join-pro-palestinian-marches-across-europe","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/203662\/","title":{"rendered":"Tens of thousands join pro-Palestinian marches across Europe"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>\n      There have been monthly protests in the British capital since the start of the 20-month-long war on the Gaza Strip, which has ravaged the enclave [GETTY]<\/p>\n<p class=\"MsoNormal\">Tens of thousands of <a href=\"https:\/\/www.newarab.com\/tag\/pro-palestinian-protests\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">pro-Palestinian protesters<\/a> marched in European cities on Saturday, calling for an end to the war on Gaza, amid concerns the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.newarab.com\/analysis\/heres-what-could-happen-next-iran-israel-war\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Iran-Israel conflict<\/a> could spark wider regional devastation.<\/p>\n<p class=\"MsoNormal\">In London, AFP journalists saw tens of thousands of protesters, who waved Palestinian flags as they marched through the British capital clad in keffiyeh scarves.<\/p>\n<p class=\"MsoNormal\">In <a href=\"https:\/\/www.newarab.com\/news\/berlin-police-crackdown-pro-gaza-protest-over-arabic-chants\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Berlin<\/a>, more than 10,000 people gathered in the centre of the city in support of Gaza, according to police figures.<\/p>\n<p class=\"MsoNormal\">And in the Swiss capital Bern, march organisers estimated that 20,000 people rallied in front of the national parliament, urging the government to back a ceasefire.<\/p>\n<p class=\"MsoNormal\">There have been monthly protests in the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.newarab.com\/news\/london-thousands-march-support-gaza-1-year-after-war\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">British capital<\/a> since the start of the 20-month-long war on the Gaza Strip, which has ravaged the enclave.<\/p>\n<p class=\"MsoNormal\">This Saturday, protesters there carried signs including &#8220;Stop arming Israel&#8221; and &#8220;No war on Iran&#8221; as they marched in the sweltering heat.<\/p>\n<p class=\"MsoNormal\">&#8220;It&#8217;s important to remember that people are suffering in Gaza. I fear all the focus will be on Iran now,&#8221; said 34-year-old Harry Baker.<\/p>\n<p class=\"MsoNormal\">&#8220;I don&#8217;t have great love for the Iranian regime, but we are now in a dangerous situation.&#8221; This was his third pro-Palestinian protest, he added.<\/p>\n<p class=\"MsoNormal\"><b>Regional fears<\/b><\/p>\n<p class=\"MsoNormal\">Saturday&#8217;s marches come amid heightened global tensions as the United States <a href=\"https:\/\/www.newarab.com\/news\/trump-make-iran-war-decision-next-two-weeks\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">mulls<\/a> joining Israel&#8217;s strikes against Iran.<\/p>\n<p class=\"MsoNormal\">Tehran said Saturday that over 400 people had been killed in Iran since Israel <a href=\"https:\/\/www.newarab.com\/news\/fear-and-rage-tehran-after-israeli-strikes\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">launched<\/a> strikes last week, claiming its arch-foe was close to acquiring a nuclear weapon, which Iran denies.<\/p>\n<p class=\"MsoNormal\">Some 25 people have been killed in Israel, according to official figures.<\/p>\n<p class=\"MsoNormal\">One marcher in London, a 31-year-old Iranian student who did not want to share her name, told AFP she had family in Iran and was &#8220;scared&#8221;.<\/p>\n<p class=\"MsoNormal\">&#8220;I&#8217;m worried about my country. I know the regime is not good, but it&#8217;s still my country. I&#8217;m scared,&#8221; she said.<\/p>\n<p class=\"MsoNormal\">Gaza is <a href=\"https:\/\/www.newarab.com\/opinion\/starving-gaza-death-row-except-theres-no-last-meal\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">suffering<\/a> from famine-like conditions, according to UN agencies in the region, following an Israeli aid blockade.<\/p>\n<p class=\"MsoNormal\">Gaza&#8217;s civil defence agency has reported that hundreds have been <a href=\"https:\/\/www.newarab.com\/news\/another-israeli-massacre-near-us-backed-aid-centre-gaza\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">killed<\/a> by Israeli forces while trying to reach the US- and Israeli-backed aid distribution sites.<\/p>\n<p class=\"MsoNormal\">&#8220;People need to keep their eyes on Gaza. That&#8217;s where the genocide is happening,&#8221; said 60-year-old protester Nicky Marcus.<\/p>\n<p class=\"MsoNormal\"><b>&#8216;Scared&#8217;<\/b><\/p>\n<p class=\"MsoNormal\">In Berlin, demonstrators gathered mid-afternoon close to the parliament, some chanting &#8220;Germany finances, Israel bombs&#8221;.<\/p>\n<p class=\"MsoNormal\">&#8220;You can&#8217;t sit on the sofa and be silent. Now is the time when we all need to speak up,&#8221; said protester Gundula, who did not want to give her second name.<\/p>\n<p class=\"MsoNormal\">For Marwan Radwan, the point of the protest was to bring attention to the &#8220;genocide currently taking place&#8221; and the &#8220;dirty work&#8221; being done by the German government.<\/p>\n<p class=\"MsoNormal\">In Bern, demonstrators carried banners calling on the federal government to intervene in the war on Gaza, expressing solidarity with Palestinians.<\/p>\n<p><a class=\"whatsapp-link\" href=\"https:\/\/whatsapp.com\/channel\/0029VaiPTGmCHDydAUBLky1G\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><img decoding=\"async\" alt=\"Join us on WhatsApp (Desktop)\" src=\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/06\/Whatsapp-TNA-desktop.webp.webp\"\/> <\/a><\/p>\n<p><a class=\"whatsapp-link\" href=\"https:\/\/whatsapp.com\/channel\/0029VaiPTGmCHDydAUBLky1G\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><img decoding=\"async\" alt=\"Join us on WhatsApp (Mobile)\" src=\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/06\/Whatsapp-TNA-mob.webp.webp\"\/> <\/a><\/p>\n<p class=\"MsoNormal\">The rally was called by organisations including <a href=\"https:\/\/www.newarab.com\/news\/criticism-surges-ais-german-branch-during-ramallah-visit\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Amnesty International<\/a>, the Social Democratic Party, the Greens and the Swiss Trade Union Federation.<\/p>\n<p class=\"MsoNormal\">Slogans included &#8220;Stop the occupation&#8221;, &#8220;Stop the starvation, stop the violence&#8221;, and &#8220;Right to self-determination&#8221;.<\/p>\n<p class=\"MsoNormal\">Some marchers chanted: &#8220;We are all the children of Gaza&#8221;.<\/p>\n<p class=\"MsoNormal\">The overall death toll in Gaza since the war broke out has reached at least 55,637 people, according to the health ministry.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"There have been monthly protests in the British capital since the start of the 20-month-long war on the&hellip;\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":203663,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[5174],"tags":[2574,2000,299,5187,14250,1824,1167,257,82131,15],"class_list":{"0":"post-203662","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-eu","8":"tag-berlin","9":"tag-eu","10":"tag-europe","11":"tag-european","12":"tag-gaza-war","13":"tag-germany","14":"tag-israel-iran-conflict","15":"tag-london","16":"tag-pro-palestinian-activism","17":"tag-united-kingdom"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@uk\/114723831497796195","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/203662","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=203662"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/203662\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/203663"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=203662"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=203662"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=203662"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}