GENEVA

Thousands of demonstrators marched peacefully through Geneva on Saturday to show their solidarity with the Palestinian people, not only to mark International Day of Solidarity with the Palestinian People, but also to demand action and accountability.

The "Big Geneva Protest," which was organized by the Boycott, Divestment, and Sanctions (BDS) movement, began at the English Garden near Lake Geneva, and then protesters marched to the front of the UN Geneva Office, where the protests culminated.

With police standing by, protesters chanted slogans such as "Free Palestine," "Palestine will be free from the river to the sea," "Israel to court," "Stop the war crimes," and "Boycott Israel," as they waved Palestinian flags and carried banners criticizing Israel.

They called for Palestine's self-determination, stressing that no peace can be achieved without "justice and decolonization." The protesters reminded the world of Palestinians' human rights, urged that the illegal Israeli settlers' attacks in the West Bank be prosecuted, and demanded that the extermination of the Palestinian people must stop.

The demonstrators also accused Switzerland of failing to be vocal about the situation in Gaza and urged Bern to "end your military collaboration with Israel."

"Switzerland's silence is complicity," they said.

Palestinians still 'have no say in' their future

Anne-Marie Costa, a Swiss-Spanish protester, told Anadolu "genocide" still continues under the ceasefire, drawing attention to the inaction of the government.

"I am here because the situation in Gaza is obviously catastrophic. Not only does the genocide continue, but governments are doing nothing," Costa said.

"For two years, we have been seeing horrific images that keep us awake at night," she said, adding: "So it is only natural that we are here to denounce the crimes that humanity, the entire world, is committing at the government level."

Also speaking to Anadolu, Anais Antreasyan, a Swiss protester and part of the BDS Geneva movement that organized the protest, said that today's protest was organized to mark the day of international solidarity.

"We are still in this situation where the Palestinian people have no say in how they want to govern themselves or in what territory," Antreasyan said. "These rights are still not being respected."

Underlining that it is important to continue showing support for Palestine, she said the current ceasefire and US President Donald Trump's plan failed to solve the root causes of the conflict in Palestine.

"The main issue is that the ceasefire and Trump's plan, which, again, still doesn't respect Palestinian rights and completely ignores the issue of occupation and apartheid," she said.

"We must continue until the Palestinians and Palestinians have all their rights to rebuild," she urged.