Protesters in Netherlands gather at Burger King outlets, condemn Israel

By Selman Aksunger

AMSTERDAM (AA) - Groups protesting against Israel's attacks on Gaza demonstrated outside Burger King outlets in various cities in the Netherlands on Sunday.

Carrying Palestinian flags, one group gathered in front of the Burger King branch located at Dam Square in the capital Amsterdam

Palestinian supporters left signs with messages like "Stop killing children," "Boycott apartheid," "Don't fund genocide" and "Silence = Complicity in crime" at its entrance. They chanted slogans such as "Amsterdam says no to genocide," "End hunger," "Free Palestine," "Stop the genocide in Gaza," "Shame on the Netherlands, blood on your hands" and "Boycott Israel, boycott genocide.”

The demonstrators affixed stickers to the entrance of the branch saying "Stop and just leave. Warning! This establishment is complicit in genocide."

They also distributed brochures to passersby informing them about Israel's massacres in Gaza.

The protesters also demanded that the Netherlands immediately cut its support to Israel, chanting slogans like "Netherlands funds, Israel bombs."

Palestinian supporter groups simultaneously staged similar actions outside other Burger King branches in cities across the country, including Rotterdam, Eindhoven and Utrecht.

The Palestinian group Hamas is estimated to be holding more than 130 Israeli hostages, while Israel is holding more than 9,100 Palestinians in its jails.

Hamas demands an end to Israel’s deadly offensive on the Gaza Strip and the withdrawal of Israeli forces from the territory for any hostage-prisoner swap deal with Tel Aviv.

Israel has killed more than 33,700 Palestinians since an Oct. 7, 2023 cross-border attack by Hamas in which some 1,200 Israelis were killed and around 250 hostages taken.

A previous deal in November saw the release of 81 Israelis and 24 foreigners in exchange for 240 Palestinians, including 71 women and 169 children.

The US, Qatar and Egypt have tried to broker an agreement to release the remaining Israeli captives.

The conflict has pushed 85% of Gaza’s population into internal displacement amid acute shortages of food, clean water and medicine, while 60% of the enclave's infrastructure has been damaged or destroyed.​​​​​​​

Global calls for a cease-fire have been growing as the war has entered its seventh month.