"I want the war to end"

"Ceasefire now" and "stop bombing babies", were some of the callouts made by the demonstrators on Saturday afternoon. The Committee for a Just Peace in the Middle East organised the procession from the Philharmonie to the Place Clairefontaine.

Their demands are clear: an immediate ceasefire in Gaza and to grant free access to humanitarian help for civilians in Palestine. A 21-year-old participant screamed out "The murders must stop". A young woman at the protest says that what we are witnessing right now is not a war but a genocide.

Another man at the protest tells us that he has family in Gaza and that right now they are suffering and trying to survive all this. He says that it’s hard to keep the contact and he is disappointed that the European Union is not doing more to help civilians.

Some of the people demonstrating in Luxembourg city were born in Morocco, Spain, Egypt, and Syria. They’re marching out of compassion for the Palestinian people,"No one would want their land stolen and their people massacred", said one of them.

"I don't want children to die. Not in Israel, nor in Palestine. I want the war to stop," said a young Syrian in his twenties. "Because I know what it feels like to lose family in the war."

All the interviewed people condemned all forms of violence. But "the violence used against the Palestinian people is disproportionate", said a young woman.

© Diana Hoffmann / RTL

When asked what a potential solution for the conflict could be, a young woman answered, "There cannot be peace unless the land goes back to the people of Palestine." She carried a sign with the caption 'Killing civilians is not self-defence'.

Another participant commented that if France were to invade Luxembourg, we would not be happy either. Another man concluded "It seems to me that either the people of Palestine will have to leave, or that Israel needs to give the Palestinians their land back."

Even if the solution may not be an easy one, people are hoping for peace. Especially because the conflict is hurting a lot of children. According to Democracy Now, 9,200 people died in October 2023. 3,800 of these were children.

But the Committee for a Just Peace in the Middle East has further demands. Both Israeli hostages and Palestinian political prisoners need to be released. Gaza must be linked to the other Palestinian territories and the Israeli army must withdraw from the occupied territories. The European Union needs to stop supporting Israel unconditionally and an investigation should be carried out into war crimes committed by both the Israeli army and Palestinian armed groups.

Thousands of pro-Palestinian protesters rallied in London, Paris and Berlin on Saturday calling for a ceasefire in Gaza after Iranians took to the streets against the United States and Israel.