Pro-Palestine demonstrations planned in several Dutch cities on Saturday

Pro-Palestine demonstrations are planned in several cities in the Netherlands on Saturday. On social media, supporters call for protests in The Hague, Groningen, Leeuwarden, Enschede, Maastricht, Den Bosch, as well as Deventer.

Last week, some demonstrations were turbulent. For example, the police had to intervene at The Hague Central Station on Wednesday.

After the pro-Palestine demonstration in front of the ICC on Wednesday, a group of demonstrators went to the Turfmarkt and started demonstrating again. In the process, they shouted various slogans and displayed flags. As a result, the mayor decided to disperse this new demonstration, whereupon the police asked the group of about 150 demonstrators to leave the square. The officers then escorted them towards Rijnstraat, the police reported.

In Rijnstraat, the police then encountered a group of about 60 people who were not part of the pro-Palestine demonstration. The group turned on the police a short time later, throwing rocks and heavy fireworks at the officers. Despite repeated requests, the group refused to leave, according to the police. To restore public order, the group was then asked to leave, and when this did not happen, the Mobile Unit intervened with the baton.

However, after calm returned for a short time, the Mobile Unit had to intervene again as a big brawl started between the people present in the station hall. To restore public order, police officers forcibly removed those from the station hall who did not follow previous instructions and warnings, as can be seen in the video.

The day before, hundreds of people demonstrated near the Israeli Embassy in The Hague, and riots broke out in the Schilderswijk district of The Hague. Furthermore, in Amsterdam last Sunday, several people were arrested at a large pro-Palestine march.

On Sunday, there will probably be a pro-Palestinian demonstration in Rotterdam and possibly also one in Amsterdam.

Israel threatens a ground offensive in the Palestinian Gaza Strip. That area is controlled by the radical movement Hamas, which carried out a major attack on Israel at the beginning of this month.