Several thousand people took to the streets in Lausanne on Thursday evening in support of Palestine. The demonstrators called for “resistance” and “liberation” of the Palestinian people, but anti-Israel slogans were also used.
Far more people than expected took part in the rally initiated by the POP Youth of the Vaud Workers’ Party. According to the Keystone-SDA news agency and the police, around 4,500 demonstrators marched through the Vaud capital, while the organisers had expected around 1,000 participants. The rally passed without incident.
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Humanitarian groups frustrated by Gaza Strip siege
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Humanitarian organisations have been forced to watch the growing civilian crisis in the Gaza Strip from the sidelines.
The demonstrators set off from the Place de la Riponne at around 6.30 pm for a tour of the city centre and then returned to their starting point. Equipped with Palestinian flags and posters, they chanted slogans along the entire route such as “We are all Palestinians” or called for Switzerland to break off relations with Israel.
The background to the rally is the Israeli-Palestinian war ongoing since the Hamas attack on Israeli territory on October 7 and the massacre of Israeli civilians by Hamas fighters and the abduction of around 200 people as hostages.
The Israeli Air Force responded with heavy bombing of the Gaza Strip, again causing numerous Palestinian civilian casualties.
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Swiss cities ban rallies due to Middle East conflict
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In view of the tense security situation in the wake of the war in the Middle East, several Swiss cities have imposed bans on demonstrations.
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