Pro-Palestine rally planned for New Year's Eve in Berlin banned

BERLIN

Police on Saturday banned a planned pro-Palestine march on New Year's eve in the German capital.

The "No celebration during genocide" demonstration, which was scheduled to take place in the Neukolln district from 10.30 p.m. local time (2130GMT) on Sunday till 1 a.m, is prohibited, Berlin police said in a statement.

It pointed out an "imminent danger" that there could be anti-Semitic slogans and glorification of violence during the protest, "based on the experiences of the past few years."

In recent weeks, tens of thousands of pro-Palestinian demonstrators have marched in Western capitals, calling for an end to Israel’s bombardment of Gaza.

The marches have reflected growing disquiet about the mounting civilian casualty toll and suffering from the conflict that began after the Oct. 7 Hamas attack.

The Palestinian death toll in Israeli air and ground attacks on the besieged enclave has crossed 21,000. In Israel, 1,200 people were killed in the Hamas offensive.