The confrontation between Israel and Gaza reached European territory with a succession of demonstrations in several cities on the continent. Some celebrating the Hamas attack, others in support of Israel. Movements that forced the main capitals to reinforce security in synagogues and places frequented by the Jewish community.
The British Home Secretary, Suella Braverman, meanwhile called on Scotland Yard to use “the full force of the law” to quell demonstrations in support of Hamas in London such as those that took place this weekend. “There must be zero tolerance against antisemitism or the glorification of terrorism on British streets,” she wrote on her (former Twitter) Braverman’s X account. “When Israel is attacked, Islamists and racists use Israeli defensive measures as a pretext to incite hatred against Jews in the UK,” she Braverman added. “Our Government will ensure that everything necessary is done to protect Jewish communities.”
Italy also reinforced security at sensitive Israeli targets in the country. Specifically, it increased security measures in Rome, in the Jewish ghetto neighborhood, especially at the synagogue, as well as at the Israeli embassy and other diplomatic residences.
Along the same lines, France reinforced security this weekend in places of worship and Jewish schools, particularly in Paris and its suburbs, “We have already given orders to the prefects to protect community places,” explained Gérald Darmanin , trying to call for calm: “There is no threat.”
In Berlin, but also in other federal states, district police stations doubled the police presence around synagogues, which is already very high in general. The Central Council of Jews in Germany, in permanent contact with the Interior authorities, speaks of a “high abstract threat”, but in recent hours the police detected an increase in anti-Semitic messages on the Internet. In the Berlin district of Neukölln, a group of Palestinians celebrated the Hamas attacks in the street and distributed baked goods. The organizer was the Samidoun solidarity network with Palestinian prisoners. The mayor of the Neukölln district, Social Democrat Martin Hikel, asked the Federal Ministry of the Interior to ban the group’s activities.
On the other hand, in several German cities, people expressed their solidarity with Israel. In Berlin, some 2,000 people gathered at the Brandenburg Gate in favor of peace and security for Israel and against financial aid to the Palestinians, whom they called, without distinction, “terrorists.”
Meanwhile, in Spain, the Mossos in Catalonia told Efe that given what happened between Israel and Gaza they decided to increase security on buildings or premises related to the Jewish community. A special device that affects synagogues, headquarters of Jewish entities or the Israeli consulate.
Unlike the Brandenburg Gate in Germany, which was illuminated in the colors of the Israeli flag, the Zat al-Imad towers in Tripoli (Libya) displayed Palestinian colors. A rally in support of the Palestinian cause was also held in Istanbul.
In the same way, European leaders took positions and also made important decisions. The Prime Minister of Israel, Benjamin Netanyahu, held talks with the German Chancellor, Olaf Scholz; the Ukrainian president, Volodimir Zelensky; the Italian Prime Minister, Giorgia Meloni, and the British Prime Minister, Rishi Sunak. A statement from Netanyahu’s office said they had all expressed support for Israel’s right to defend itself “as much as necessary.”
Labor opposition leader and British prime ministerial hopeful Keir Starmer condemned Hamas’ attacks on Israel as “a horrific act of terrorism” and said Israel “has the right to defend itself,” the same terms used by the Conservative Prime Minister Rishi Sunak.
In Germany, a country that has made Israel’s security a state issue, the debate over how to respond to the Jewish state’s aggression with more than just words of condemnation has begun. The first to ask for concrete actions was the Minister of Finance, the liberal Christian Lidner. Supported by his militancy and conservative politicians from the Christian Democratic Union (CDU), Linder defended the suspension of development aid to the Palestinians. Germany transferred 340 million euros in development aid to the Palestinians in the last two years. The 2024 budget provides for some 350 million euros for the Palestinian Authority, aid now being questioned due to the suspicion that these funds serve to indirectly finance terror against Israel.
Other countries take advantage of the conflict to obtain electoral benefits, such as the case of Poland, which resorts to the specter of a possible new wave of refugees on the eve of next Sunday’s elections.