Unprecedented Repression Campaign against Pro-Palestine Voices in Europe
As the Israeli brutal aggression escalates against the Gaza Strip, claiming the lives of thousands of civilian victims, including women and children, amid total support of western governments, an unprecedented repression campaign has been launch against the pro-Palestine voices across Europe.
French soccer club Nice recently suspended defender Youcef Atal until further notice after he shared a pro-Palestine message on social media.
Although, Atal was forced to delete the publication, the club has made the decision to immediately take the first disciplinary measures against the player, “given the nature of the publication shared, and its seriousness.”
Atal’s suspension comes after the Nice public prosecutor’s office opened a preliminary investigation targeting Atal on charges “of defending terrorism” for sharing the message online. The prosecutor’s office said Atal is also being investigated for “public incitement to hatred or violence because of a particular religion.”
In Germany, Bundesliga club Mainz suspended Dutch forward Anwar El Ghazi for what it called an “unacceptable” social media post about the Israeli aggression on Gaza.
A screenshot of El Ghazi’s post circulating on social media shows that he wrote a lengthy post about how the ongoing violence is “not a conflict and it’s not a war. This is genocide and mass destruction and we’re witnessing it happen live,” before ending his post with: “From the river to the sea, Palestine will be free.”
The French authorities have earlier suppressed pro-Gaza protests and detained activists for reasons related to public order, including the head of Jewish community in France, after raising the Palestinian flag.
In Germany, the authorities banned all expressions of solidarity with Palestine or the victims of Gaza, whether in public and academic spaces or on social media.
In the US, a heinous crime took place against the Muslim community in Chicago following the murder of an American-Palestinian child by his American neighbor, who was influenced by the rise of anti-Arab and anti-Muslim rhetoric in American media as a result of the recent events in Gaza.
After breaking into their home on Sunday, October 15, a 71-year-old man fatally stabbed a six-year-old boy and seriously hurt his 32-year-old mother. He claimed that he targeted the victims because of their religious beliefs and in response to the ongoing events in the Gaza Strip.
The murderer stabbed the boy 26 times and his mother 12 times with a large military-style knife.
The repression campaign also extended to social media platforms, especially Facebook and Instagram, where Palestinian content is restricted and voices that challenge the prevailing pro-Israel narrative are silenced, while pro-Palestine posts are limited.
Western governmental efforts to silence any pro-Palestine voice are mainly driven by Zionist efforts to control the Western narrative and suppress all Palestinian narratives.
We affirm that Western governments, including the US, are involved in the Israeli war crimes and genocide against the Palestinian people, especially with the continued complete siege imposed on the Gaza Strip and depriving its people of water, food, fuel and medical supplies.