Middle East Riots at pro-Palestine demonstration in Zurich
Riots broke out at an unauthorized pro-Palestinian demonstration in the city of Zurich on Thursday evening. The police used tear gas, rubber bullets and water cannons against the demonstrators. They themselves were also attacked.
12.06.2025, 21:49
12.06.2025, 23:17
SDA
The location of the demonstration was initially unknown. The Palestine Committee Zurich called out on Instagram: "All uf Züri". And: "Shutdown for Palestine." A large police presence was deployed at Zurich main station in the late afternoon, after pro-Palestinian demonstrators had already occupied tracks at the stations in Geneva and Lausanne on Monday evening.
At Zurich main station, however, things remained calm for the time being. Shortly after 7.30 p.m., the organizers of the demonstration called on Instagram for people to gather in Stadtkreis 4. This was followed by calls to Lochergut and Helvetiaplatz - from there, the several hundred demonstrators moved on through the city towards Stauffacher.
Police and demonstrators clashed. The police used water cannons, rubber bullets and tear gas, while the demonstrators set fire to containers and firecrackers, as a photographer reported to the Keystone-SDA news agency.
The police were pelted with fist-sized stones, among other things, as they wrote in a statement. The Zurich city police, who were supported by the cantonal police, took one person to the police station for further investigation, while another person was ordered to leave. The demonstration broke up at around 9.30 pm.
The Palestinian terrorist organization Hamas, which holds power in the Gaza Strip, had attacked Israeli border villages from the Gaza Strip on 7 October 2023, causing a massacre with around 1200 fatalities and kidnapping over 250 people as hostages.
The Israeli army then began its attacks on the Gaza Strip, causing tens of thousands of Palestinian deaths to date. Internationally, accusations of war crimes against the Israeli government were raised. Israel's blockade of aid deliveries to the Gaza Strip, which is inhabited by around two million Palestinians, has also repeatedly sparked criticism.
