Police in Germany use tear gas on protesters at pro-Palestine rally in Berlin

By Erbil Basay

BERLIN (AA) - German police used tear gas to disperse thousands of protesters in Berlin’s Kreuzberg district on Sunday as they marked the one-year anniversary of the Israel-Hamas war.

Demonstrators gathered at Kottbusser Tor Square holding banners with slogans such as "Stop Arming Israel," "End the Genocide" and "Freedom for Gaza."

They also condemned police violence during pro-Palestine rallies over the past year.

Police halted the march near Kottbusser Damm and the Lenau Street intersection, preventing protesters from advancing to Herrmann Square. Clashes erupted, leading to a heavy-handed police response.

Several demonstrators were detained, including a disabled protester in a wheelchair who was forcibly dragged into a police vehicle.

Israel, flouting a UN Security Council resolution calling for an immediate cease-fire, has continued its brutal offensive on the Gaza Strip following an attack by the Palestinian group Hamas last Oct. 7.

More than 41,800 people have since been killed, most of them women and children, and over 96,900 others injured, according to local health authorities.

The Israeli onslaught has displaced almost the entire population of the territory amid an ongoing blockade that has led to severe shortages of food, clean water and medicine.

Israel also faces a genocide case at the International Court of Justice for its actions in Gaza.

*Writing by Yasin Gungor