Riots in Kreuzberg: police officer seriously injured at Nakba demo!

Riots in Kreuzberg: police officer seriously injured at Nakba demo!

Berlin-Kreuzberg, Deutschland - On May 16, 2025, Berlin-Kreuzberg experienced a pro-Palestinian demonstration on the occasion of the Nakba Memorial Day. The event was shaped by a number of 1,100 people, some of which protested aggressively against Israel and the current war in Gaza. In the course of the demonstration, there were considerable violent conflicts between the demonstrators and the police forces.

During the protests, a total of 11 police officers were injured, including a 36-year-old official who was seriously injured to the hospital. He was torn into the crowd and suffered a broken arm. Several demonstrators also suffered injuries, and 56 arrests came during the riots. The incident is evaluated by the Berlin General Prosecutor's Office as a “attack on organs of the rule of law”, which is why investigations were made for dangerous bodily harm and serious breach of the peace, such as rbb24 reported.

acts of violence and reactions

The violent acts during the demonstration included bottle and stone throws against the police officers. The governing mayor of Berlin, Kai Wegner, and Federal Minister of the Interior Alexander Dobrindt condemned the brutally emerging disputes. Speeches of the demonstrators, such as "Children's Murderer Israel, women's murderer Israel, Baby Dollection Israel" and "From The River To The Sea", illustrated the charged mood of the participants.

An originally planned second Pro-Palestinian demonstration on Oranienplatz was canceled due to the violent incidents. The police focus on the associated counter -demonstration, which was rather small with only 35 participants. In order to limit the protest, the Higher Administrative Court decided that the rally may only take place on the Südstern while a planned demo train to Neukölln was prohibited.

Nakba commemorative day and historical contexts

The Nakba Memorial Day is reminiscent of the flight and displacement of hundreds of thousands of Palestinians in the first Middle East War in 1948, which took place as a result of the founding of Israel. In recent years there have been frequent tumults and violent clashes with the police, such as Tagesschau .

The excitement around the Nakba Memorial Day fits into a larger trend, which has increasingly led to tensions between pro-Palestinian and pro-Israeli groups in Berlin in recent years. In a demonstration on May 30, 2024 in Neukölln, there were also aggressive disputes in which the police reported stone throws and several officials were violated, which illustrates the unpredictability of such events rbb24