Minor riots broke out in Berlin on Wednesday evening following a peaceful demonstration to commemorate Nakba Day (Catastrophe Day), commemorating the flight and displacement of more than 700,000 Palestinians during the first Middle East war in 1948.
According to German police, demonstrators set fire to rubbish bins and fire-crackers were set off. The police detained several demonstrators. The number of people involved was in the double-digit range, a police spokeswoman said.
According to authorities, around 200 people had initially gathered on the Berlin street Sonnenallee following an appeal on social networks. The demonstrators then split into small groups and walked in different directions, a police spokeswoman said. The street scene then calmed down.
Around 11 pm (2100 GMT), the operation was still ongoing and the situation was dynamic. "We are present," said the spokeswoman. There were groups of people being monitored.
According to the police, around 600 people had gathered in the western Berlin district of Charlottenburg in the early evening for a demonstration to mark Palestinian Remembrance Day.
The Nakba memorial day is held every year on May 15 - one day after the anniversary of the founding of the Israeli state on May 14, 1948.
The demonstration remained largely without major incidents. Originally, around 1,000 participants were registered under the title "Solidarity with Palestine - 76 years of Al Nakba."
On Saturday, participants in a "Palestine will be free" demonstration will march from Berlin's Oranienplatz in Kreuzberg past the Foreign Ministry to the Brandenburg Gate from 2 pm to mark Remembrance Day. A total of 2,000 people have registered.
Since the attacks on Israel by the Palestinian militant organization Hamas on October 7, there have been constant demonstrations in Berlin in connection with the Gaza war.