Close to 500 police officers have been deployed for rallies in Berlin on Saturday as the one-year anniversary of the Gaza war approaches, police said on X.
Authorities are preparing for a large-scale operation throughout the weekend, as numerous gatherings have also been announced for Sunday.
In front of the Humboldt University in Berlin’s central Mitte district, numerous people gathered early in the afternoon for a pro-Israel rally. Some participants waved Israeli flags, while a large banner condemned anti-Semitism.
The demonstrators moved along the famous Unter den Linden street towards the north of the city.
Members of the left-wing radical Antifa movement also participated. One placard read, “Reclaim Antifa. Emancipation instead of anti-Semitism.”
A dpa reporter observed that the assembly initially proceeded peacefully.
At the same time, numerous pro-Palestinian demonstrators gathered at the Platz der Luftbrücke near the police headquarters in the city’s Tempelhof district. Several Palestinian flags were visible.
The participants of the event titled “One Year of Genocide – and the World Watches. Against Police Violence” intended to march from Tempelhof through Kreuzberg to the Brandenburg Gate.
A counter-event titled “We Stand with Israel and the Police” has also been registered.
At the city’s Potsdamer Platz, there was additionally a reading of texts by Palestinian writers, which some passers-by followed.
