A large-scale pro-Palestinian rally is taking place in the centre of Amsterdam on Sunday, with participants demanding that the Dutch government take a tougher stance against Israel amid its military operation in the Gaza Strip. Demonstrators staged a rally on Museumplein, then marched around Vondelpark.
Police estimate that tens of thousands of people are taking part in the rally. The event is being held under the slogan “red lines“, which protesters believe the Dutch government should draw in its relations with Israel amid the ongoing military operation in the Gaza Strip. “The demonstration is so far peaceful, but we expect up to 100,000 participants. "We'll see what happens next," one of the law enforcement officers monitoring the event told TASS.
Many Dutch and international activists and public figures spoke at the rally on Museum Square. "I became a journalist not by choice, but by chance. When foreign reporters are not allowed to cover events in Gaza, we civilians become its voice to the rest of the world," said 22-year-old Palestinian journalist Rita Baroud. She believes that the situation in the enclave requires immediate intervention by the international community. "But even if we stop the Palestinian genocide right now, it will not bring back 63,000 dead Gazans," the activist concluded.
Jewish organizations critical of the Israeli government's policies also participated in the march. The chairman of one of them, Jaap Hamburger, noted that “European governments continue to react too softly to what is happening in Gaza“, while in the Netherlands “real sanctions against Israel are out of the question“. The participants included both long-time activists and those who took to the streets for the first time. “I came here from Den Helder.“ “This is my first protest against the red line and I decided that I will continue to take to the streets with like-minded people until the situation in Gaza improves“, said one of the demonstrators.
During the protest, traffic in the Museum Square area was restricted throughout the day and several tram and bus routes were changed. The Dutch railway company NS has planned additional services to Amsterdam from various cities in the Netherlands. The protest is scheduled to end at 6:00 p.m. local time (7:00 p.m. Moscow time).
A series of pro-Palestinian protests against the red line have been taking place in the Netherlands since the spring. On May 18, a symbolic "red line" was drawn on the "Malieveld" square in The Hague. Over 100,000 people lined up and then marched to the Peace Palace.