Dutch police arrest pro-Palestine protesters at World War Two anniversary event

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WAGENINGEN, Netherlands (Reuters) – Dutch police arrested five pro-Palestine protesters on Monday during a World War Two anniversary event in Wageningen, central Netherlands.

A police spokesperson said the arrests were for disturbing public order.

As the city marked the 80th anniversary of Dutch liberation at the end of World War Two in Europe, around 250 to 300 protesters, according to local media estimates, gathered to voice opposition to the Israel-Gaza war and demand the Dutch government speak out against it.

They held signs reading “Not then, not now, never again” and “Don’t give hate power,” a Reuters witness saw.

They also held an 80-metre (262 ft) long red banner, with an accompanying text that described it as a symbol of “the red line the government refuses to draw,” referring to the Dutch government.

During a speech by Dutch Prime Minister Dick Schoof, Dutch media reported a protester threw a smoke bomb onto the stage, where visiting Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk was also present.

The police spokesperson was unable to clarify whether the protester was among those arrested.

In his speech, Tusk referenced the war in Ukraine, saying that Europe’s era of comfort and freedom was over, and that the lesson of 80 years ago was that nations had to be united to overcome the challenges they face.

Several World War Two veterans also attended the event. They included Mervyn Kersh, aged 100, from Britain, and Nick Janicki, 101, from Canada, who lit the National Liberation Fire just after midnight on Monday. The public greeted them with a loud cry of “thank you”.

(Reporting by Piroschka van de Wouw and Charlotte Van Campenhout, Editing by Barbara Lewis)