Police stop unauthorised pro-Palestinian protest in Basel

Basel: police prevent unauthorised pro-Palestine march Keystone-SDA

Police in Basel stopped an unauthorised pro-Palestinian demonstration from taking place on Saturday, encircling around 300 people who had gathered at Theaterplatz.

Officers carried out a number of identity checks in the area.

At around 2pm, between 200 and 300 people gathered at Theaterplatz, chanting slogans including “Free, free Palestine”, according to a reporter from the Keystone-SDA news agency at the scene. Some demonstrators also carried placards reading “End to Zionism”.

Police maintained a substantial presence at the scene, deploying a large number of officers and a water cannon. They sealed off Theaterplatz, gradually encircled the demonstrators and carried out identity checks. At times, the situation was very tense.

Small groups gathered around the perimeter of the cordoned-off area, and there were occasional cat-and-mouse encounters with police. Officers also used pepper spray during the operation.

The demonstration had been advertised under the slogan “Death to Zionism”. It was scheduled to take place on August 29, the anniversary of the opening of the First Zionist Congress in Basel in 1897.

One leaflet stated: “We oppose not only Zionist policy in Israel, but also the support it receives here.”

Earlier, cantonal police said the demonstration, in its planned form, was incompatible with fundamental rights and therefore could not be authorised. They cited explicit calls to violence linked to the planned protest.

Police also stressed that the Jewish community in Basel must be able to feel safe at all times. The Basel police force was supported by officers from the cantons of Bern and Aargau.

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Translated from Italian, reviewed by an English Department journalist.