Thousands show solidarity with Palestine in Switzerland

Thousands of people in Geneva in solidarity with Palestine Keystone-SDA

Between 6,000 and 10,000 demonstrators gathered in Geneva to show solidarity with Palestine.

+Get the most important news from Switzerland in your inbox

Saturday’s event was the largest pro-Palestinian demonstration in the canton since 2023.

The cantonal police counted over 6,000 people, Keystone-ATS over 8,000 and the organisers over 10,000. The BDS (Boycott-Divestment-Sanctions) movement condemned Switzerland, which “under the guise of neutrality, is demonstrating its complicity with Israel”.

+ Why Switzerland refuses to recognise Palestine as a state

Speaking to a packed crowd at the Place de Neuve, a member of the collective called on Swiss institutions and companies to immediately cease all collaboration with Israel. “The genocide is continuing and Israel is using mass starvation as a weapon to complete its ethnic cleansing of the population of Gaza”, insisted BDS.

Demonstrators took to the streets to “denounce the financial complicity of UBS with the State of Israel”. A banner was also unfurled in front of the Bel-Air branch. In the procession, photos of children killed in Gaza were displayed on large banners, with their names and ages.

Emergency

According to BDS, the recent recognition of the State of Palestine by some Western countries does not change the urgency of the situation on the ground for the Palestinian population. In the crowd, however, many placards condemned Switzerland’s behaviour. “Switzerland, you don’t recognise Palestine. I don’t recognise you any more,” they read. Another protester carried a simple sign reading “Shame”.

The crowd, which was very compact at first, then crossed the Pont du Mont-Blanc and ended up behind the station, in the Parc des Cropettes, in a festive atmosphere. The demonstration passed off without incident. Many of the demonstrators were young people and families who had come to show their support for the Palestinian people.

Crowds in Bellinzona

At the same time, more than 2,000 demonstrators gathered in Bellinzona for the same cause, according to municipal police figures. In the pouring rain, they marched from a spot near the railway station towards the Piazza Governo, the seat of the Ticino government, demanding that the Federal Council “respect its commitments in terms of humanitarian rights”.

“Palestina libera, liberi tutti!” (Palestine free, everyone free!) was one of the placards held up by a young woman. Another read “Stop the weapons, stop the dirty business”. Many families took part in the demonstration.

Translated from French with DeepL/mga

How we work

We select the most relevant news for an international audience and use automatic translation tools to translate them into English. A journalist then reviews the translation for clarity and accuracy before publication.  

Providing you with automatically translated news gives us the time to write more in-depth articles. The news stories we select have been written and carefully fact-checked by an external editorial team from news agencies such as Bloomberg or Keystone.

If you have any questions about how we work, write to us at [e-mail].

News