Nearly 2,500 pro-Palestinian demonstrators gather in Geneva and Lausanne

Nearly 2,500 pro-Palestinian demonstrators in Geneva and Lausanne Keystone-SDA

Around 2,500 people demonstrated in Geneva and Lausanne on Saturday afternoon to demand the release of the more than 10,000 Palestinians detained by Israel. They also denounced the war in Gaza and the Israeli assaults on the West Bank.

In Geneva, nearly 2,000 demonstrators – 1,700 according to the police – responded to a call from the BDS Geneva movement (Boycott-Divestment-Sanctions against Israel until the end of apartheid and occupation in Palestine) for April 17. This date marks the international day of solidarity with Palestinian prisoners.

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“These prisoners are deprived of their fundamental rights. The Israeli NGO B’Tselem reported in 2024 that they are victims of torture,” said a member of BDS, adding that “colonialism and ethnic cleansing are part of the project to erase the Palestinian people”.

And she denounced “Israel’s terrible impunity, for which we are also responsible…after 18 months of atrocious crimes and 77 years of apartheid crimes.”

Translated from French by DeepL/ds

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