A group of pro-Palestinian demonstrators broke into the State Criminal Police Office in the Tempelhof district of Berlin on Saturday. They shouted slogans glorifying terrorism, some of which are forbidden. Symbols of the Islamist organisation Hamas were also painted or sprayed on the front door of the building, as reported by the authorities.
Around 50 people are said to have been outside the building at around 9 pm. According to the police, the plan was to pick up a woman who had been released from preventive custody. During the release, the group then entered the anteroom of the building and shouted a banned slogan – the same slogan for which the woman had previously been arrested.
Police officers forced the group out of the vestibule again. At the entrance to the building, they discovered ‘smearings of colour’ – the troublemakers had painted the so-called red Hamas triangle on the entrance door. In the Islamist group’s propaganda videos, targets are marked with this symbol.
A task force was alerted and was able to detain a total of 19 people from the group and record their personal details. State security is now investigating them for using unconstitutional and terrorist organisations. The police, on the other hand, are investigating trespassing.
This is not the first incident in which pro-Palestinian or Islamist actors have attacked representatives of the state. Since the renewed outbreak of the Israel-Palestine conflict following the Hamas attack on October 7, 2023, there have been several attacks on police officers, state buildings and universities in Germany.
In September, a supporter of the Islamist terrorist group ‘Islamic State’ attacked a police station in Koblenz with a machete. He then shouted ‘Allahu Akbar’. Police officers have also been repeatedly attacked at pro-Palestine demonstrations. Most recently, on the first anniversary of October 7,stones were thrown and officers were physically attacked. Pyrotechnics were also thrown at police officers.
During the summer, several universities were occupied and smeared. Both the Free University of Berlin and Humboldt University were the target of several attacks.