BERLIN — Police officers shut down and banned a Palestinian solidarity conference in Berlin and detained more than a dozen attendees, hours after a British Palestinian doctor slated to speak at the event said German authorities “forcibly prevented” his entry into the country.
Ghassan Abu Sitta, a reconstructive plastic surgeon who spent 43 days tending to the wounded in Gaza City last year, said that he was questioned for three hours at Berlin’s airport before being told he was not allowed to enter the country. He said he had also been informed he was not allowed to record any videos that could be shown in events in Germany during that period.
Germany’s interior ministry did not respond to emails requesting comment.
“As his lawyers, we will be taking up his removal from Germany with the authorities and will expect a full explanation for the manner in which he was treated today,” said Tayab Ali, who represents Abu Sitta, on X.
“They want to silence Palestinian voices,” Abu Sitta said at a demonstration at the German embassy in London after arriving back in Britain. “When you see what they are doing to the people in Gaza, this is nothing. They want to silence the witnesses.”
Shortly after he was turned back at immigration, the Palestinian conference at which he was due to speak — which accuses Germany of being complicit in “Israeli apartheid and genocide” on its website — was broken up by police.
German officials have characterized the country’s crackdown on pro-Palestinian voices since the Hamas attack on Oct. 7 as a fight against antisemitism, paramount to the state given its Holocaust history.
Critics have countered that Germany’s intention is to stifle voices critical of Israel’s war, and point to the soft hand of authorities when it comes to antisemitism of White far-right Germans.
In February, Israeli filmmaker Yuval Abraham caused a firestorm at the Berlin International Film Festival after he called for a cease-fire in Gaza and criticized Israel’s treatment of Palestinians.
Police shut down the Palestinian solidarity conference about a minute into playing a video message from Salman Abu Sitta — Ghassan Abu Sitta’s uncle. “We have never seen before all means of life systematically destroyed: hospitals, clinics, schools, universities, libraries, ancient monuments, mosques, universities, cemeteries, apartment buildings,” he said before the police intervened.
“Be calm, they are embarrassing themselves,” an organizer told attendees as police cut off the live stream. Around 30 police officers had been in the room of 250 participants to monitor the event, attendees said. They then cut power to the building.
Berlin police said it broke up the event because Salman Abu Sitta is “forbidden from being politically active in Germany.” Seventeen people were detained, according to a police statement which did not give further details on the arrests.
“There is a risk of a speaker being put on screen who in the past made antisemitic and violence-glorifying remarks,” Berlin police said on social media. The last two days of the conference have been banned, it said.
Wieland Hoban — the chairman of Jewish Voice for a Just Peace in the Middle East, which co-organized the event — said the organizers had not been informed that Salman Abu Sitta was under a speaking ban. Two of the group’s members were detained, including one who held up a “Jews against genocide” sign outside the event venue in the morning.
The conference — and Salman Abu Sitta’s participation in particular — stirred controversy before it even began, with Germany’s antisemitism commissioner, Felix Klein, saying he was in favor of banning the author from entering the country. In a January blog post, Salman Abu Sitta wrote that he “could have been one of those who broke through the fence” if he were younger and still lived “in the concentration camp called the Gaza Strip.”
Organizers said around 100 police officers showed up at the event Friday morning, but did not raise any concerns with them about the conference program. In the morning, police had told organizers that building and fire regulations meant that only 250 attendees would be allowed to attend instead of 850.
Berlin Mayor Kai Wagner praised the police actions. “We have made it clear which rules apply in Berlin,” he tweeted. “We have made it clear that hatred of Israel has no place in Berlin. Anyone who does not abide by these rules will feel the consequences.”