Amsterdam (Netherlands) (AFP) - Tens of thousands demonstrated on Sunday in Amsterdam to denounce the continuing violence against Palestinians in Gaza, raising banners bearing the phrase “Stop genocide.”
Published on: 08/11/2026 - 17:45
The organizers of the demonstration, which was held under the title “Red Line” (Rode lijn), estimated the number of participants at about 200,000. The demonstrators, wearing red clothes, demanded that the Dutch government take action against Israel.
Stephen Eisinger, who was wearing a red scarf around his neck, told AFP during the demonstration: “Stop supplying weapons to Israel.”
The thirty-year-old American residing in Amsterdam added, "I am Jewish, and there are members of my family who currently reside in Israel, but I was keen to express my support for Palestine and my opposition to genocide."
The Gaza Strip is witnessing a ceasefire that entered into force on October 10, 2025, after two years of war that broke out following the unprecedented attack launched by Hamas on Israel on October 7, 2023.
Despite the agreement on a ceasefire that was reached with Egyptian, Qatari and American mediation, the Israeli army continues its air strikes and military operations on the ground on an almost daily basis.
However, a severe humanitarian crisis is still ravaging the Gaza Strip, and Israeli aircraft continue to launch raids on it, while settler violence against Palestinians in the occupied West Bank is escalating.
The Netherlands did not follow the example of other European countries such as France and Belgium in recognizing Palestine as an independent state.
Prime Minister Rob Yetten said during his weekly press conference on Friday that his participation in this demonstration was “no longer appropriate,” after he had participated in similar events when he was a candidate for the 2025 legislative elections.
This position prompted Jan Willem de Leeuw, one of the participants in Sunday's demonstration, to describe him as a "coward."
However, as of last September, the Dutch government imposed a ban on importing products from Israeli settlements established in the occupied Palestinian territories, which are illegal under international law.
After this decision entered into force, Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Sa'ar announced the cancellation of the accreditation of Dutch diplomats working in the West Bank.
Similar movements were previously organized in May, June and October 2025 in The Hague and Amsterdam, and the number of participants reached record levels for the Netherlands, and the organizers of one of them in the capital estimated it at about 250,000.
In late last October, the Dutch public broadcaster NBO announced the Netherlands’ withdrawal from the 2027 Eurovision Song Contest, attributing the decision to the fact that Israel’s participation “raises mixed reactions in society and is a source of controversy and division.”
© 2026 AFP
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