By Sam Tabahriti and Catarina Demony
LONDON (Reuters) -Opponents of Israel’s actions in Gaza held protests on Tuesday in a number of cities on the second anniversary of the Hamas attacks that triggered the war, despite denunciations by politicians who said such marches risked glorifying violence.
Hamas gunmen killed 1,200 people and took 251 hostage in the attack on October 7, 2023. Israel responded by launching an offensive against the Palestinian militant group in Gaza that has killed more than 67,000 people, Gaza health officials say.
Pro-Palestinian rallies were held on Tuesday in Sydney and in European cities including London, Paris, Geneva, Athens, Thessaloniki, Istanbul and Stockholm.
The protests reflect a shift in global sentiment, with sympathy that initially flowed to Israel after the October 7 attacks now increasingly directed towards Palestinians, leaving Israel more isolated on the world stage.
‘TERRIBLE TIMING, SHOCKINGLY INSENSITIVE’
Organisers of pro-Palestinian protests say they are intended to spotlight the humanitarian crisis in Gaza and advocate for Palestinian rights.
But politicians in several countries said scheduling such protests on the anniversary of the Hamas attacks, the deadliest day for Jews since the Holocaust, could be seen as an endorsement of militant violence.
“Terrible timing, shockingly insensitive,” Chris Minns, the premier of the Australian state of New South Wales, told radio station 2GB of a planned protest in Sydney.
British Prime Minister Keir Starmer said it was “un-British” to hold the protests “on the anniversary of the atrocities of October 7”.
Some people had used the Israeli government’s actions in Gaza as a “despicable excuse to attack British Jews for something over which they have absolutely no responsibility,” Starmer said.
Concern over antisemitism in Britain in particular has intensified since an attack at a synagogue last week in which two men were killed, and Jewish communities have stepped up security at places of worship.
In London, several hundred protesters waved Palestinian flags and shouted: “Israel is a terrorist state” outside King’s College London. They were expected to march to other universities.
A small group of people waving Israeli flags stood nearby.
Mark Etkind, a retiree in his early 60s from London, wore a sign around his neck saying he was the son of a Holocaust survivor and opposed what he called genocide in Gaza. He said a call by Starmer for students not to protest was “outrageous”.
“I have always opposed genocide,” he told Reuters. “Of course, I support students here who are actively opposing genocide.”
But Emily Schrader, a 34-year-old Israeli journalist who was visiting London, called it “utterly disgraceful”.
“I think that there are much better ways to support Palestinians than engaging in an activity like this that is so hurtful, so deeply offensive, and that emboldens radicalism and terrorism, whether on campus or on the ground in Israel.”
Vigils and some protests against antisemitism were also being held on Tuesday. In Germany mourners gathered at Berlin’s Brandenburg Gate, placing stones and photos of victims in a solemn vigil echoing Jewish remembrance traditions, while events were held across Israel.
PROTESTS PROMPTED BY HUMANITARIAN SITUATION IN GAZA
In the Netherlands, pro-Palestinian activists splashed red paint on Amsterdam’s Royal Palace in protest against a decision by the city mayor to ban a pro-Palestinian rally while permitting a pro-Israeli event.
In Turkey, a protest was expected outside an energy company over its exports to Israel. In Sweden, demonstrators were expected to welcome back participants of a Gaza aid flotilla detained by Israel, including climate activist Greta Thunberg.
Authorities have banned a pro-Palestinian demonstration in the northern Italian city of Bologna, citing the risk of unrest, after days of protests and clashes with police across Italy.
“The demonstration will be absolutely prohibited,” Enrico Ricci, the local prefect in Bologna, told reporters.
The dire humanitarian situation for Palestinians in Gaza has prompted marches and protests attended by millions globally in the last two years.
Governments have had to find a balance between granting the right to protest and the need to protect Jewish communities who have felt targeted by the demonstrations and have reported a rise in antisemitic incidents since the October 7 attack.
(Writing by Sam Tabahriti; Additional reporting by Catarina Demony in London, Charlotte Van Campenhout in Amsterdam, Inti Landauro in Brussels and Jonathan Spicer in Istanbul, Editing by Kate Holton, Timothy Heritage, Peter Graff)
