Police detained 205 pro-Palestinian protesters at The Hague Central Station on Thursday after demonstrators moved from a protest near the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and entered the station, the police said.
Hundreds of protesters had gathered near the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, and around 6 p.m. some moved to The Hague Central Station, police said. Officers said they asked the activists several times to move to Reagan and Gorbachev Avenue, where a designated demonstration site had been set up. Most did not comply.
Dozens of protesters broke through the entrance gates to the station hall, police said. They were initially held to one side of the station by a police hedge but managed to reach the other side, where they took platform 4. Some entered tracks 9 and 10. Police said the atmosphere “quickly became grim.” By 10:30 p.m. the station was cleared and train traffic was able to resume.
In all, police detained 205 protesters, including people who entered the railroad and those who did not comply with the Public Demonstration Act, the police said. One activist insulted officers and then used violence against them; an employee was injured and the activist was detained, police added.
The protesters demanded that the Ministry of Foreign Affairs secure the release of all those on board the activist Global Sumud Flotilla fleet. Among them were 16 people from the Netherlands, all of whom, according to the organization, were detained by Israel. The sailors had sought to go to Gaza to deliver humanitarian aid.
There were also protests against the Israeli interception of the flotilla in general. Israel intercepted the flotilla Wednesday night. During the night from Wednesday to Thursday, those on board were taken to the country. In all, more than four hundred activists were arrested by Israel.
For the Cabinet, “the first priority” is to recover the Dutch activists from the Global Sumud Flotilla, the government said. Outgoing Foreign Minister David van Weel told a debate in the House of Representatives on Thursday that he had asked Israeli authorities to treat the sailors well and let them go quickly. He said much remains unclear about the action against the flotilla and that the “illegality” of their action will be discussed with the Israelis later. The ministry is providing consular assistance to the activists if they want it.
