LONDON: Activists replaced a German flag with a Palestinian flag outside parliament in Berlin on Sunday to protest what they described as the government’s support for Israel and silence over war crimes in Gaza.
Police arrested three activists at the scene and opened an investigation on suspicion of insulting the state and its symbols, Anadolu Agency reported, citing Berlin police.
The group, Peacefully Against Genocide, said the action was intended to show solidarity with Palestinians and condemn German politicians’ failure to act against what it described as genocide and grave human rights violations.
In a statement, a group member identified only as Aaron accused governments worldwide of failing to represent their people by remaining silent on, permitting or supporting genocide.
“No matter where in the world a genocide is committed, it affects us all,” Aaron said. “We must not shirk our responsibility to stop crimes against humanity.”
Invoking the pledge of “never again,” Aaron questioned its meaning if people allowed such crimes to recur.
“What does international law mean if governments do not abide by it? What are human rights worth if they do not apply to everyone?” he said.
The group also announced further protests against Germany’s policy toward Israel and continued arms supplies. It called on arms manufacturer Rheinmetall to halt all deliveries to Israel and close its Berlin facility.
Peacefully Against Genocide describes itself as a German civil resistance movement that uses nonviolent protests, sit-ins and blockades to oppose military support and arms exports, as well as what it alleges is German complicity in the war in Gaza and the wider Middle East.
Sunday’s protest was not the first incident in which support for Palestinians was displayed inside the German parliament.
In June last year, Left Party lawmaker Cansin Kokturk was ordered to leave the plenary chamber for wearing a T-shirt bearing the word “Palestine,” which parliamentary leaders deemed a political statement, Euronews reported.
Kokturk later criticized the decision in a post on X, contrasting her removal with Germany’s continued weapons supplies to Israel.
“I am being asked by Mrs. Klockner to leave the plenary hall because my shirt says ‘Palestine,’” she wrote. “You have all failed so badly.”