Thousands demonstrate for Palestine in Bern and Zurich – some with controversial posters. Rockfall at the Bernina Pass – the pass road is closed until Sunday

More than a thousand demonstrators showed solidarity with the population in the Palestinian territories in Bern on Saturday. The Palestinian Group Bern called for the approved demonstration in front of the Federal Palace.

“We demand an immediate ceasefire and an end to the genocide,” said a call on social media. The siege must end.

Palestinian flags were waved. Hand-painted banners featured slogans such as ‘Stop War’ and ‘Free Palestine’. “Do human rights also apply to Palestinians?” was the question on another banner.

Scores of police officers watched the event, some of them in riot gear, a correspondent for the Keystone-SDA news agency reported. There were occasional heated discussions on the sidelines of the rally.

Police officers led away several people who were on the edge of Bundesplatz. The background was initially unclear.

“Abolish apartheid”

In his speech, former Green National Councilor Geri Müller said that the background to all the violence was ‘apartheid’ and that it should be abolished. The president of the Switzerland-Palestine Society rejected charges that the controversial slogan “From the river to the sea, Palestine must be free” was anti-Semitic.

This simply means that Palestinians can live in freedom in the area between the Jordan and the Mediterranean Sea. The accusation of anti-Semitism is made to silence critics.

Thousands also take to the streets in Zurich

There was also a demonstration in Zurich on Saturday, with several thousand people taking to the streets “for a free Palestine”. The police were on site with a large contingent. The organizers spoke of around 7,000 participants. The Zurich city police wrote in their message about several thousand participants.

There were also left-wing autonomists and some Corona skeptics on display. The police have reported a person who lit prohibited smoking sticks to the Public Prosecution Service.

The demonstration was peaceful. No major incidents were observed. The demonstration led from Helvetiaplatz to Bahnhofstrasse and back. The most common chant from the demonstrators was ‘Free Palestine’. Israel was also called a terrorist in chants.

There were isolated incidents on Bahnhofstrasse. A passerby insulted the participants as terrorists, as a Keystone-SDA reporter noted.

Some controversial posters

Individual posters during the demonstration made comparisons to Hitler or described the West as a sponsor of terrorism. But the most common thing to see were Palestinian flags of all sizes.

(dabbing/sda)