Berlin police shut down a pro-Palestine protest, citing a ban on Arabic speeches and music, and arrested several demonstrators.
German police shut down a pro-Palestine protest in Berlin on Saturday and arrested several demonstrators citing a ban on the use of Arabic at the gathering.
Hundreds of demonstrators gathered at the square near the Wittenbergplatz metro station in support of Palestine, under the slogan “Stop the aggression in the West Bank—Do not supply weapons to Israel,” the Anadolu news agency reported.
🪧 German police arrested several pro-Palestinian protestors in Berlin and forced them to stop playing music and chanting Arab slogans against Israel during a rally
🗣️ The demonstrators gathered in Wittenbergplatz and chanted slogans such as ‘Germany finances, Israel bombs’… pic.twitter.com/1Lp9pgYHiF
— Anadolu English (@anadoluagency) February 8, 2025
Demonstrators carried Palestinian flags and signs reading “Hands off the West Bank,” “Stop arming Israel,” “Gaza is not for sale,” “Freedom for Palestine,” and “Palestinian children deserve to grow up.”
Only German and English
During the rally, some protesters delivered speeches in Arabic and chanted anti-Israel and anti-US slogans to the tune of Arabic music, the report said.
Police intervened, citing an Arabic music ban, and demanded that it be stopped.
Für diese Versammlungen gelten ergänzende Beschränkungen.
Statt eines geplanten Aufzugs soll eine Kundgebung an einem festen Ort durchgeführt werden. Parolen und Plakate sind nur in deutscher und englischer Sprache gestattet.#b0802
⬇️ https://t.co/3QrBTuVWhH— Polizei Berlin Einsatz (@PolizeiBerlin_E) February 8, 2025
A post by the Berlin Police Department on X regarding the protest stated that “Slogans and posters are only permitted in German and English.”
Sit-In Protest
An announcement from a police vehicle then stated that chanting in Arabic or giving speeches has been prohibited, and due to the violation, the demonstration must end immediately, Anadolu reported. Authorities instructed the protesters to leave the square.
In Berlin Wittenbergplatz, police are violently suppressing a Palestine protest simply for chanting in Arabic. pic.twitter.com/xeDPRoc0sc
— PALESTINE ONLINE 🇵🇸 (@OnlinePalEng) February 8, 2025
Over 50 protesters refused to disperse and staged a sit-in protest, prompting a heavy police response. Several protesters were detained.
Before the event, police had imposed conditions that allowed only German and English slogans while prohibiting marches. Nearly 250 police officers were at the site of the protest, according to Anadolu.
Rising Death Toll
Palestinian medics and rescue teams recovered 22 more bodies from the rubble in the Gaza Strip, pushing the overall death toll from Israel’s genocidal war since October 2023 to 48,181, the Health Ministry said on Saturday, according to Anadolu.
The Health Ministry said in a statement that the toll included four Palestinians killed by Israeli fire in the past 48 hours.
Gaza’s True Death Toll Revealed to Be Much Higher, Study Finds
Five injured people were also admitted to hospitals, taking the number of the injured to 111,638 in the Israeli onslaught, the statement noted.
“Many victims are still trapped under the rubble and on the roads as rescuers are unable to reach them,” the ministry said.
(Anadolu, PC)
