Published 04/30/2024
Palestinians walk past the ruins of houses destroyed during Israel's military offensive, amid the ongoing conflict between Israel and Hamas, in Gaza City, March 20, 2024.
REUTERS/Dawoud Abu Alkas//File
RAMALLAH, West Bank (Reuters) - A group of Palestinian students disrupted a meeting of European Union diplomats in the West Bank on Tuesday and attacked some of their cars with stones, smashing the back window of one of the vehicles to protest against the war in Gaza, witnesses said.
The EU diplomats to the Israeli-occupied Palestinian territories were holding a meeting at the Palestinian Museum, which celebrates Palestinian history and culture, in Birzeit near Ramallah when the incident happened.
One diplomat present told Reuters they were in a meeting when a crowd appeared outside telling them to leave and after attempts at dialogue were unsuccessful, the diplomats left. The experience was unpleasant, but there was no serious threat to any of the diplomats, he said.
Videos on social media later showed a crowd surrounding a car and smashing a window by throwing stones.
Amr Kayed, a student from Birzeit University, said they forced the EU diplomats to leave to send a message that "anyone who is complicit in genocide and the offensive on Gaza" was not welcome.
Oliver Owcza, the German representative to the Palestinian territories, said he regretted that the meeting was interrupted.
"Nevertheless, we remain committed to constructively work with our Palestinian partners!," he said on X. "Peaceful protest & dialogue always has its place."
Before the incident, Palestinian students posted a message on Facebook (NASDAQ:META) calling for a protest against the presence of the Germany representative over his country's support for Israel during its war with Gaza.
Germany has been one of Israel's staunchest allies since the Oct. 7 attacks by Hamas militants which killed 1,200 people, according to Israeli tallies. More than 34,535 Palestinians have been killed during Israel's subsequent military offensive, according to health authorities in the enclave.
Germany has also been one of the leading arms exporters to Israel, sending 326.5 million euros ($349 million) in military equipment and weapons in 2023, according to German Economy Ministry data.
Violence in the West Bank, which had already been on the rise before the war, has since flared with stepped up Israeli raids and Palestinian street attacks. Palestinian Health Ministry records show Israeli forces or settlers have killed at least 460 Palestinians since Oct. 7.
Israel captured the West Bank in the 1967 Middle East war and the area has been under military occupation since, while Israeli settlements have gradually expanded. Palestinians envisage the West Bank as part of a future independent state also including Gaza and East Jerusalem.
($1 = 0.9345 euros
(reporting by Ali Sawafta and James Mackenzie, Writing by Andrew MacAskill, Editing by William Maclean)
RAMALLAH, West Bank (Reuters) - A group of Palestinian students disrupted a meeting of European Union diplomats in the West Bank on Tuesday and attacked some of their cars with stones, smashing the back window of one of the vehicles to protest against the war in Gaza, witnesses said.
The EU diplomats to the Israeli-occupied Palestinian territories were holding a meeting at the Palestinian Museum, which celebrates Palestinian history and culture, in Birzeit near Ramallah when the incident happened.
One diplomat present told Reuters they were in a meeting when a crowd appeared outside telling them to leave and after attempts at dialogue were unsuccessful, the diplomats left. The experience was unpleasant, but there was no serious threat to any of the diplomats, he said.
Videos on social media later showed a crowd surrounding a car and smashing a window by throwing stones.
Amr Kayed, a student from Birzeit University, said they forced the EU diplomats to leave to send a message that "anyone who is complicit in genocide and the offensive on Gaza" was not welcome.
Oliver Owcza, the German representative to the Palestinian territories, said he regretted that the meeting was interrupted.
"Nevertheless, we remain committed to constructively work with our Palestinian partners!," he said on X. "Peaceful protest & dialogue always has its place."
Before the incident, Palestinian students posted a message on Facebook (NASDAQ:META) calling for a protest against the presence of the Germany representative over his country's support for Israel during its war with Gaza.
Germany has been one of Israel's staunchest allies since the Oct. 7 attacks by Hamas militants which killed 1,200 people, according to Israeli tallies. More than 34,535 Palestinians have been killed during Israel's subsequent military offensive, according to health authorities in the enclave.
Germany has also been one of the leading arms exporters to Israel, sending 326.5 million euros ($349 million) in military equipment and weapons in 2023, according to German Economy Ministry data.
Violence in the West Bank, which had already been on the rise before the war, has since flared with stepped up Israeli raids and Palestinian street attacks. Palestinian Health Ministry records show Israeli forces or settlers have killed at least 460 Palestinians since Oct. 7.
Israel captured the West Bank in the 1967 Middle East war and the area has been under military occupation since, while Israeli settlements have gradually expanded. Palestinians envisage the West Bank as part of a future independent state also including Gaza and East Jerusalem.
($1 = 0.9345 euros
(reporting by Ali Sawafta and James Mackenzie, Writing by Andrew MacAskill, Editing by William Maclean)
Protesters chase EU diplomats from Palestinian Museum
AFP News
Tue, 30 April 2024
Palestinian Authority police prevent demonstrators from reaching the Canadian Representative Office in Ramallah in the occupied West Bank on April 30, 2024
AFP News
Tue, 30 April 2024
Palestinian Authority police prevent demonstrators from reaching the Canadian Representative Office in Ramallah in the occupied West Bank on April 30, 2024
(Jaafar ASHTIYEH)
Protesters from a Palestinian university chased a group of European diplomats out of a museum in the occupied West Bank on Tuesday over what activists said was their position on the Gaza war.
Video posted on social media showed Italian consul general Domenico Bellato hurrying away from the Palestinian Museum near the city of Ramallah followed by a crowd of demonstrators.
"The student's movement refused those visitors to come to the museum because of their position on the genocide in Gaza. For that we asked them to leave," student representative Omar Kayed told AFP.
A source present at the scene said the crowd had been looking for a diplomat from Germany, which is among European states that have come under fire recently for supporting Israel in the Gaza war.
"There was an EU retreat at the museum today. Around lunchtime, a demonstration gathered outside," Christian Kussler, spokesman for the German representative office in Ramallah, told AFP.
"The EU heads of missions present, including the German (one), decided to leave the premises", he said, adding his office was assessing the situation.
The national Palestinian Museum is located in the West Bank city of Birzeit, north of Ramallah, next to Birzeit University.
In the video shared online, one man could be heard shouting "Out!".
Other footage showed a car allegedly belonging to the diplomats stuck in the middle of a crowd, with people knocking on windows and throwing objects in its direction.
- 'Non-supportive countries' -
In a statement, the Palestinian Museum distanced itself from the EU event that took place on its premises.
"We did not invite any ambassadors from the countries who attended today", the statement read, adding that "no list of invitees' names was presented to us".
"If we had known of the presence of ambassadors from non-supportive countries, we would have refused to rent the hall," it added.
The statement said the museum only knew about a room being rented by the Belgian embassy, "which has stood with the Palestinian voice and cause since the beginning of the aggression against our people in Gaza".
"We regret that today's meeting of EU heads of missions at the national museum in Birzeit was unduly interrupted by protesters," German head of mission Oliver Owzca said on X.
"Nevertheless, we remain committed to constructively work with our Palestinian partners", he added.
Elsewhere, Palestinian police were forced to prevent protesters from reaching the Canadian representative office in Ramallah on Tuesday in a rally against that country's positions over the Gaza war, an AFP photographer said.
The demonstrations came as the International Court of Justice threw out Nicaragua's request for emergency measures to stop Germany sending military supplies to Israel because of its action in the Gaza war.
The war broke out after Hamas's October 7 attack on southern Israel resulted in the deaths of 1,170 people, mostly civilians, according to an AFP tally of Israeli official figures.
Israel's retaliatory offensive has killed at least 34,535 people in Gaza, mostly women and children, according to the health ministry in the Hamas-run territory.
he-str-lba/jd/dv
Protesters from a Palestinian university chased a group of European diplomats out of a museum in the occupied West Bank on Tuesday over what activists said was their position on the Gaza war.
Video posted on social media showed Italian consul general Domenico Bellato hurrying away from the Palestinian Museum near the city of Ramallah followed by a crowd of demonstrators.
"The student's movement refused those visitors to come to the museum because of their position on the genocide in Gaza. For that we asked them to leave," student representative Omar Kayed told AFP.
A source present at the scene said the crowd had been looking for a diplomat from Germany, which is among European states that have come under fire recently for supporting Israel in the Gaza war.
"There was an EU retreat at the museum today. Around lunchtime, a demonstration gathered outside," Christian Kussler, spokesman for the German representative office in Ramallah, told AFP.
"The EU heads of missions present, including the German (one), decided to leave the premises", he said, adding his office was assessing the situation.
The national Palestinian Museum is located in the West Bank city of Birzeit, north of Ramallah, next to Birzeit University.
In the video shared online, one man could be heard shouting "Out!".
Other footage showed a car allegedly belonging to the diplomats stuck in the middle of a crowd, with people knocking on windows and throwing objects in its direction.
- 'Non-supportive countries' -
In a statement, the Palestinian Museum distanced itself from the EU event that took place on its premises.
"We did not invite any ambassadors from the countries who attended today", the statement read, adding that "no list of invitees' names was presented to us".
"If we had known of the presence of ambassadors from non-supportive countries, we would have refused to rent the hall," it added.
The statement said the museum only knew about a room being rented by the Belgian embassy, "which has stood with the Palestinian voice and cause since the beginning of the aggression against our people in Gaza".
"We regret that today's meeting of EU heads of missions at the national museum in Birzeit was unduly interrupted by protesters," German head of mission Oliver Owzca said on X.
"Nevertheless, we remain committed to constructively work with our Palestinian partners", he added.
Elsewhere, Palestinian police were forced to prevent protesters from reaching the Canadian representative office in Ramallah on Tuesday in a rally against that country's positions over the Gaza war, an AFP photographer said.
The demonstrations came as the International Court of Justice threw out Nicaragua's request for emergency measures to stop Germany sending military supplies to Israel because of its action in the Gaza war.
The war broke out after Hamas's October 7 attack on southern Israel resulted in the deaths of 1,170 people, mostly civilians, according to an AFP tally of Israeli official figures.
Israel's retaliatory offensive has killed at least 34,535 people in Gaza, mostly women and children, according to the health ministry in the Hamas-run territory.
he-str-lba/jd/dv
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