Europe sees fragmented pro-Palestinian protests on the three year anniversary of October 7

Three years have passed since Hamas launched attacks on Israel on October 7, 2023, sparking pro-Palestinian protests across Europe. However, these demonstrations were not the only focus of the anniversary. In Germany, Britain, and the Netherlands, the solidarity rallies faced arrests or restrictions. Meanwhile, in France and Spain, education and housing protests overshadowed the Palestinian cause.

In Berlin, 700 people gathered in Kreuzberg neighborhood, including climate activist Greta Thunberg, who joined a flotilla to deliver aid to Gaza. Berlin police made over 30 arrests and investigated "propaganda-related and violent offenses."

In London, 11 people were arrested at protests outside the Board of Deputies of British Jews, with accusations of inciting racial hatred. The Board of Deputies condemned the masked protesters chanting "intifada" and harassing neighbors.

Universities in Edinburgh and Glasgow also saw hundreds of pro-Palestinian rallies, with demands for divestment from Israel. In the Netherlands, about 150 people demonstrated in Amsterdam's Dam Square, some carrying banners that said "We support Hamas" and burning an Israeli flag. Mayor Femke Halsema disbanded the protest, deeming some banners and slogans "shocking and distasteful."

In France, mass protests against deteriorating school conditions drew hundreds of thousands to the streets, overshadowing the Pro-Palestinian rallies. A Paris demonstration initially barred by police continued after the city's administrative court suspended the ban. In Spain, thousands protested housing affordability crises, with a Barcelona rally attended by nearly 92,000 people and about 70,000 in Barcelona.

Samidoun, a group linked to the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine, called the Hamas attacks a "heroic operation."