By Olivia Le Poidevin
GENEVA, Oct 12 (Reuters) – Eighteen police officers and several people were injured after thousands of pro-Palestine protesters took to the streets of Bern on Saturday, police said on Sunday, adding the demonstration was unauthorised.
The protest in the Swiss capital against Israel’s war in Gaza turned violent when police tried to restrict the movement of the protesters, who were throwing objects and bricks, police told a press conference.
Swiss national broadcaster SRF reported that police used tear gas and water cannon against the crowd of up to 5,000 people who attended the march.
“This behaviour … forced the police to use coercive measures,” Michael Bettschen, deputy regional head of the Bern cantonal police, said on Sunday. One person was arrested.
Such confrontations are rare for Switzerland, although a pro-Gaza protest on October 2 in Geneva also led to clashes between police and protesters.
More than 50 properties in Bern were damaged, with windows smashed and graffiti sprayed on buildings, police said. The damage was likely to run into millions of Swiss francs, SRF reported, adding the rally was organized by pro-Palestinian groups from across Switzerland.
The police said in a statement on X during the protest on Saturday that the mood was “heated”, with some people wearing masks and chanting slogans.
A ceasefire between Israel and Hamas held in Gaza for a third day on Sunday ahead of the expected release of Israeli hostages and Palestinian prisoners and an address by U.S. President Donald Trump to Israel’s parliament.
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