France’s interior minister has banned all pro-Palestinian demonstrations in the country.
France’s Interior Minister, Gérald Darmanin, said that foreigners who break the rules will be sent out of the country. This decision comes as European countries are worried about an increase in hate towards Jewish people due to the conflict between Israel and Hamas.
In Germany, the police stopped a demonstration supporting Palestinians in Berlin. France has a big Jewish community, almost half a million, which is the largest in Europe. France also has one of the largest Muslim communities in Europe, around five million.
Mr. Darmanin told local leaders to make sure that Jewish schools and synagogues have visible police protection. He mentioned that there have been 100 cases of hate against Jewish people since Saturday. Most of these were things like graffiti with hateful messages, but some were more serious, like people trying to bring knives into schools and synagogues.
French police are already guarding the homes of important politicians. The President of the National Assembly, Yaël Braun-Pivet, and MP Meyer Habib have been given extra protection.
In a different decision, Germany’s leader, Chancellor Olaf Scholz, said there would be “zero tolerance” for hate against Jewish people. He told the parliament that a group supporting Palestinians, which celebrated the killing of Israeli civilians, would be banned.
The police in Berlin also stopped planned demonstrations supporting Palestinians, because they were worried there might be hateful speeches or support for violence. About 60 protesters followed an order to leave Berlin’s Potsdamer Platz on Thursday.
French President Emmanuel Macron was going to talk on TV on Wednesday to try and stop the situation from getting worse. Twelve French citizens are known to have died in the attack by Hamas. Macron also said that out of the 17 people who are still missing, four of them are children.
It’s also been revealed that Assembly President Braun-Pivet has gotten death threats. She’s a member of President Macron’s party, and this week she had the parliament lit up in the colors of the Israeli flag to show support after the Hamas attack. She also held a minute of silence before a session of the Assembly on Tuesday.
Ms. Braun-Pivet also said that Maryam Abu Daqqa, a member of a group called the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine (PFLP), won’t be allowed to attend a showing of a documentary in parliament next month. The PFLP is seen as a terrorist group by the European Union.
Meyer Habib, who represents an area that includes Israel and the Palestinian Territories and strongly supports Israel, has also been given extra protection. He said that after the Hamas attack, it feels like we’re seeing a return of violent attacks against Jewish communities.
The attack by Hamas and what came after has caused a lot of division in French politics. While most parties have condemned the attack as an act of terror and supported Israel’s right to respond, a left-wing party led by Jean-Luc Mélenchon called La France Insoumise (France Unbowed) had a more mixed response. They called the Hamas attack an “armed offensive of Palestinian forces,” which led to strong criticism from other parties, even from left-wing allies like the Socialist and Communist parties.
In Germany, Chancellor Scholz told lawmakers in the Bundestag (Germany’s parliament) that making sure Israel is safe is a big priority for Germany. Germany’s Foreign Minister, Annalena Baerbock, is going to Israel to show solidarity.
Chancellor Scholz also said that a pro-Palestinian group called Samidoun, which was seen giving out treats in Berlin to celebrate the Hamas attack, would be banned. He said, “We won’t accept hate against Jewish people.”
German authorities reported that in several towns, like Mainz, Braunschweig, and Heilbronn, flags of Israel that were raised to show support were torn down and destroyed, sometimes within just a few hours. The mayor of Braunschweig, Thorsten Kornblum, said this act disrespects and makes fun of the victims of the Hamas attack. Chancellor Scholz also mentioned that without support from Iran, Hamas wouldn’t have been able to carry out these serious attacks.
CREDIT:BBC