Amsterdam Holds Fourth 'Red Line' March as Organisers Put Turnout at About 20,000 and Press Dutch Government on Israel
AMSTERDAM — Tens of thousands of demonstrators marched through Amsterdam on November 8 in the fourth 'Red Line' protest, pressing the Dutch government to take tougher action against Israel over the war in Gaza. Organisers put the turnout at about 20,000, according to Agence France-Presse, while Amnesty International Netherlands, one of the organisers, said more than 200,000 people took part; the Associated Press described the crowd as numbering in the tens of thousands.
The march was organised by a coalition led by The Rights Forum with 13 other groups, including Amnesty International, Oxfam Novib, PAX and Save the Children. Protesters gathered for speeches at Museumplein in the early afternoon before marching through Amsterdam's Zuid and Oud-West districts. The organisers set out three demands: stricter trade sanctions on Israel, an official Dutch declaration that Israel's actions in Gaza amount to genocide, and a halt to all arms sales to Israel.
Prime Minister Rob Jetten, who joined a similar march last year as a parliamentary candidate, stayed away this time and defended his government's record at his weekly news conference. In September the Dutch government banned imports from Israeli settlements in the occupied territories, after which Israel revoked the accreditation of Dutch diplomats. Unlike several other European countries, the Netherlands has not recognised a Palestinian state.
(Source: Agence France-Presse)
Source: Agence France-Presse
Published by GSM · USA (original Chinese edition)
Photo: 图：阿姆斯特丹博物馆广场一带（资料图）。CC BY-SA 3.0，经 Wikimedia Commons。 / Photo: The Museumplein area in Amsterdam (file photo). CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons.
