Austrians demonstrate against their government’s support for Israeli occupation

VIENNA, Oct. 19 (YPA) – Hundreds of people participated in a demonstration in the Austrian capital, Vienna, under the slogan “For peace, neutrality, and a sovereign Austria,” expressing their protest against their government’s support for the Israeli occupation.

The demonstrators gathered in Vienna’s Christian Broda Platz square, at the invitation of civil society organizations, accusing the Austrian government of abandoning the principle of neutrality.

The demonstrators expressed their protest against the Austrian government’s continued sending of weapons to countries experiencing conflict and its support for the occupation, which is committing genocide against Palestinians in Gaza.

The participants chanted slogans such as “Freedom, peace, neutrality,” and “Freedom for Palestine,” holding banners bearing phrases such as “For our peace and neutrality” and “Free Palestine from the river to the sea.”

In a speech at the demonstration, Slovakian Member of the European Parliament Ljuboš Blaha criticized the European Union’s arms race, denouncing the double standards in dealing with the events in Ukraine and Gaza.

“We are imposing sanctions on Russia, but the European Union is turning a blind eye to the genocide in Gaza, and this is the real crime. This is considered a war crime,” Blaha said in this regard.

The European parliamentarian described Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu as a “war monster and a war criminal,” stressing that the European Union and the United States are complicit in the genocide of Gaza.