22,000 demonstrations in Europe in support of Gaza after 10 months of Israeli aggression | News

Today, Wednesday, marks 10 months since the start of the Israeli aggression on Gaza strip Since October 7, 2023, which has led to the martyrdom, injury and displacement of hundreds of thousands of Palestinians, in addition to other unknown numbers still buried under the rubble of destroyed homes.

Throughout this period, demonstrations and activities have not stopped in European cities in support of the Palestinian cause and in defense of the victims of the massacres committed by the Israeli occupation army in the Gaza Strip.West Bank.

The European Palestinian Information Center (EPIC) documented more than 22,000 demonstrations and events in more than 600 cities across 20 European countries, 10 months after the start of the operation. Al-Aqsa Flood Carried out by the Palestinian resistance against the Israeli occupation.

Reasons to continue

The continuation of the events and demonstrations throughout this period reflects the strength of the motives that drive supporters of the rights of the Palestinian people, the amount of momentum that the Palestinian cause has gained in the European media, in addition to the efforts made by activists to mobilize support against the Israeli aggression.

The Executive Director of the European Information Center (EIPAL), Raed Al-Salhat, attributed the strength of the demonstrations in Europe to the continued Israeli aggression on Gaza without any oversight or accountability from the international community, and that the scenes of bleeding blood, scattered limbs, and the policy of starvation have moved supporters of Palestinian rights from various segments of European society.

Al-Salah added – in an interview with Al Jazeera Net – that the participants in these demonstrations are not only from the Arab and Muslim communities, but they were joined by many European peoples who see the injustice of the Palestinian people in the face of the Israeli aggression, without supporting international law or the international community supporting their rights.

He also said that the people of Europe have seen the extent to which European politicians are biased towards the Israeli narrative and that the suffering of the Palestinians does not concern them, so you will find popular manifestations of solidarity with Palestine, such as flags and keffiyehs, widely spread in shops and windows as a popular reaction to the decisions of the political leadership.

Change of beliefs

Perhaps delving into the reasons for the continuation of the pro-Palestine movement will lead to a conclusion that there is a change in the convictions of the European street towards supporting the Palestinian cause. The general coordinator of the European Network for the Defense of Palestinian Refugee Rights, Ali Shteiwi, gives an example of this with the German case.

Shtewi says, “Not a day goes by in Berlin without a demonstration or a stand in support of our people in the Gaza Strip. The participants represent different segments of society, including, of course, Arab and Islamic communities. But the strange thing is that about half of the participants in the events are of German origin, and this is something new.”

In an interview with Al Jazeera Net, Shtewi explains the reason behind this change in conviction, saying that when the activities began in Germany 10 months ago, they were met with repression and restrictions as a result of the strategy followed by the German authorities to silence every voice that expressed solidarity with Palestine and prevent every activity that supported the rights of the Palestinians.

He added, “Our continuation of various activities supporting the Palestinian cause has made us regain our rights to demonstrate and raise our voices loudly in support of our people in Palestine.”

Palestine in the elections

The previous shift in changing the convictions of societies did not stop at individuals, but rather became part of the political movement and the various European elections, so the Palestinian issue became an important item in the electoral programs, and the same applies to Israeli violations.

These changes are not at one level, as the CEO of the Ebal Center divides them into the following levels:

• Firstly- Conviction among societies and some leaders of the justice of the cause and the injustice of the Palestinian people.
• secondly- European policy, with its governments, is not hostile to Israel, and can provide it with support, yet it calls for the restoration of the rights of the Palestinian people.
• Third- The stage of recognizing the Palestinian state, as did other states.

The General Coordinator of the European Network for the Defense of Palestinian Refugee Rights agrees with the previous proposal, and believes that many European parties now include in their electoral programs advocacy and support for the Palestinian cause, while highlighting Israeli violations, in order to achieve political gains in European societies.

The Israeli Narrative

But pro-Israel pressure groups have not missed an opportunity to undermine any supporter of the Palestinian cause, even if it came to threatening to kill them, says Raed Al-Salahat.

Al-Salah added that “some criminal gangs affiliated with the Zionist entity in Italy – and publicly – threatened to kill, and three figures who support the Palestinian people were actually physically assaulted directly.” There are campaigns on social media that promote these attacks and threats in order to undermine activities and events that support the Palestinians.

Shtewi lists the forms of aggression that supporters of the Palestinian cause were subjected to, especially at the beginning of the Israeli aggression on the Gaza Strip. He says that the supporters of Israel did not leave us any space to express our opinions, and prevented every decision that supported the Palestinians, and prevented raising the Palestinian flag or wearing the keffiyeh or showing any appearance that expressed support for Palestinian rights.

But that changed, says Shtewi, after we resorted to the judiciary and continued to take to the streets and demonstrate, and we stuck to our convictions and rights. This policy declined, to the point that the German city of Dusseldorf alone witnessed a demonstration last March in which more than 100,000 demonstrators participated, and about 50% of the participants were German.