European delegation expelled from Palestinian Museum in West Bank amid anger over support for Israel

By Qais Abu Samra

RAMALLAH, Palestine (AA) - Palestinian students expelled a European diplomatic delegation from the Palestinian Museum in the West Bank on Tuesday amid growing anger over support for Israel’s deadly offensive on the Gaza Strip.

Amro Kayed, a student at Birzeit University, said the European delegation included some German members.

“Germans are not welcome in the Palestinian territories,” Kayed told Anadolu.

Video clips shared on social media platforms showed a group of students removing foreign diplomats from the museum.

“The German ambassador has been expelled,” one student is heard saying in the video.

The visit to the museum was initiated by representatives of several European embassies, including France, Belgium, the Netherlands, Spain, and Germany.

There was no comment from any European mission in the Palestinian territories on the report.

Tensions have been high across the occupied West Bank since Israel launched a deadly military offensive against the Gaza Strip which has killed more than 34,500 people following an attack by the Palestinian group Hamas on Oct. 7 last year.

Germany remains one of the strongest supporters of Israel’s military offensive in Gaza, despite growing public pressure.

Chancellor Olaf Scholz has repeatedly said Germany bears special responsibility for Israel because of its Nazi history.

In March 2024, Nicaragua filed a lawsuit before the International Court of Justice demanding Germany cease its military support to Israel, which "facilitates genocide" against Gaza’s population.

The court said it will issue its decision regarding requests for provisional measures in the case brought by Nicaragua against Germany on Tuesday.

More than six months into the Israeli war, vast swathes of Gaza lay in ruins, pushing 85% of the enclave’s population into internal displacement amid a crippling blockade of food, clean water and medicine, according to the UN.

Israel stands accused of genocide at the top world court, which in an interim ruling in January ordered Tel Aviv to stop genocidal acts and take measures to guarantee that humanitarian assistance is provided to civilians in Gaza.

*Writing by Rania Abu Shamala in Istanbul