Tens of thousands of people demonstrated in the center of The Hague, on Sunday, in protest against the right government’s position on the Israeli war on the Gaza Strip, in a protest that was considered the largest in the country’s history during the past two decades, according to Dutch News.
The organizers called on the Dutch government to take concrete measures to stop Israel’s ongoing violations of international humanitarian law in the Palestinian territories.
Many demonstrators wore red clothes to draw a “symbolic” red line, which they say was something that the government refused to do in the past.
100 thousand demonstrators
The protest organizers estimated the number of attendees at more than 100,000 people, describing it as the largest demonstration in the Netherlands in the past twenty years.
While the police said that the protest went through peace, but they refused to give an official appreciation to the crowd.
A wide segment of the population participated in the demonstrations, as there were many elderly and families who had children.
The march began in Malefield near the parliamentary complex, and ended at the Palace of Peace, where there is the headquarters of the International Court of Justice (ICJ).
The International Court of Justice is currently considering the case of genocide against Israel, and in a temporary ruling issued last year, the court ordered Tel Aviv to take measures to protect civilians in Gaza, and allow humanitarian aid to enter the Strip. This is what the Israeli government has not yet complied.
The largest demonstration in the Netherlands
The demonstration was organized by a wide alliance of relief organizations, human rights and supportive groups of the Palestinians, including Amnesty International, Doctors Without Borders, the Children’s Salvation Organization, the Dutch branch of Oxfam Novib, and others.
Last week, Dutch Foreign Minister Kasper Veldanteb accused Israel of violating human rights laws; Because of its plan to occupy Gaza permanently.
In a letter to the European Union foreign policy official, Kaya Callas, Veldagb wrote that the Israeli siege on Gaza violates the terms of the free trade agreement with the European Union.
In the latest poll, conducted by the Dutch media network RTL, two thirds of the participants described the recent Israeli bombing of Gaza as “very excessive”, while 77% of them condemned the blockade of the sector and preventing the entry of humanitarian aid.
