Berlin [Germany], December 24: A pro-Palestinian demonstration in Berlin calling for an end to the war in the Gaza Strip drew several hundred people on Saturday.
Demonstrators marched from the Kreuzberg district of the German capital to the Brandenburg Gate in the city centre under the slogan "Solidarity with Palestine." Organizers registered a protest for 5,000 people, but police put the number at several hundred. The gathering was proceeding peacefully, a spokesman said.
Marchers wore Palestinian scarves and carried placards condemning the bombing of the Gaza Strip as a war crime. They called for freedom for Palestine, waving Palestinian flags.
They chanted: "Stop the murder, stop the war, stop the Gaza genocide."
A Berlin branch of the opposition hard-left Die Linke had called the protest. It urged the German government to work towards an immediate and durable ceasefire and for the blockade on the Gaza Strip to be lifted.
Humanitarian aid should be allowed in to provide for the civilian population, Die Linke said.
Previous pro-Palestinian protests in Berlin have turned violent.
Meanwhile, Pro-Palestinian activists urged shoppers to boycott "Israeli-linked" brands as they brought traffic to a standstill during a march on Oxford Street, in London, UK.
Hundreds of protesters descended on the famous shopping hotspot as part of a demonstration organised by direction action group Sisters Uncut on Saturday afternoon.
They gathered in Soho Square chanting "free Palestine" before swarming on Oxford Street during the Christmas shopping rush.
Activists chanted "boycott Zara" and "Zara, Zara, you can't hide, stop supporting genocide" outside one ofthe fashion brand's stores.
Security guards blocked the entrance to the shop as dozens of officers followed the march.
Leaflets distributed by Sisters Uncut said: "No Christmas as usual in a genocide. The UK is complicit.
"Don't fund genocide in Palestine. Boycott Israel."
Source: Qatar Tribune