UPDATE - German police ban Palestinian solidarity rallies in Berlin

ADDS POLICE INTERVENTION IN RALLIES

By Timo Kirez

GENEVA (AA) – Police in Germany’s capital banned rallies planned for Wednesday in support of Palestine, fearing the use of anti-Semitic slogans, glorification of violence and actual violence.

In Berlin, two solidarity rallies with Palestinians were planned under the banners "Solidarity with All Political Prisoners on Palestinian Prisoners Day" and "Demo in Solidarity with Palestine."

However, Berlin police issued a statement in the morning prohibiting rallies in the city, citing past experiences.

Despite the ban, many people gathered in Hermann Square in Neukolln district and the surrounding Sonnenallee Street with the intention of holding an unauthorized demonstration in support of Palestine.

They chanted slogans in support of Palestine, and there were arguments between them and passersby.

The police, who had taken extensive security measures around the square, used announcements from vehicles to request the dispersal of the group.

Many people who did not comply were arrested.

The organizer of the two solidarity rallies, Initiative Palestine, accused the police of racism, saying that further steps would be announced later.

The rallies are banned "on racist grounds,” it said in a statement posted on its website.

"However, we will not be silenced. We will inform about upcoming steps to bring (the) Palestine (issue) to the streets of Berlin," it added.

Meanwhile, police prohibited a third demonstration outside a school in Berlin's Neukolln district on Wednesday under the banner "Against violence in schools."

Following a physical altercation between a student and a teacher at the school on Monday, parents' representatives called for the demonstration.

According to police, a 14-year-old student allegedly "started the fight because he showed up at school wearing a Palestine flag as a cape and a Palestinian scarf around his head."

The Israel-Palestine conflict began when Hamas initiated Operation Al-Aqsa Flood against Israel, a multi-pronged surprise attack including a barrage of rocket launches and infiltrations into Israel via land, sea, and air, which Hamas said was in retaliation for the storming of Al-Aqsa Mosque in occupied East Jerusalem and Israeli settlers’ growing violence against Palestinians.

In response, the Israeli military launched Operation Swords of Iron against Hamas targets in the Gaza Strip. Israel's response has extended to cutting water and electricity supplies to Gaza, further worsening the living conditions in an area that has reeled under a crippling siege since 2007.

More than 2,300 people have been killed in the current bout of violence, including at least 1,100 Palestinians and 1,300 Israelis.