Germany cancels pro-Palestine event, bars entry to Gaza war witness
Al Jazeera
Police halt Palestine Congress, saying one of the speakers was subject to a ban on political activity in Germany.
Police in Berlin interrupted and cancelled a pro-Palestine conference soon after it started, hours after one of the main speakers said authorities held him up at the airport and prevented him from entering Germany.
Officers initially halted the Palestine Congress because another speaker was subject to a ban on political activity in Germany, police wrote on the social media platform X on Friday.
Police did not give the name of the speaker, but participants in the congress wrote on X that it was Palestinian researcher Salman Abu Sitta.
Police later wrote on X that they had banned the remainder of the conference, which was being attended by about 250 people and due to last until Sunday.
They said there were risks that same speaker would be invited to talk again, accusing him of having made “anti-Semitic” statements in the past.
