On Tuesday, German Ambassador to the Palestinian Authority Oliver Owtsa was attacked by a mob of angry students as he attempted to visit Birzeit University in the West Bank.
As students were outraged by Germany’s support for Israel, the mob forced Mr. Outsa off campus, surrounded his armored vehicle, and threw stones at him.
The German ambassador to the Palestinian Authority, Oliver Ooutsa, was tracked down and his car attacked by students at Birzeit University in Ramallah early today. pic.twitter.com/slm7qI0I5B
— Joe Truzman (@JoeTruzman) April 30, 2024
Outsa was visiting the university, about nine miles from Ramallah, for a meeting with European Union diplomats at the Palestine Museum. A mob stormed the venue and harassed all the assembled heads of EU delegations until they left the campus.
“The student movement refused these visitors to come to the museum because of their stance on the genocide in Gaza. That is why we asked them to leave,” protest leaders said. one person said. Said.
The mob seemed particularly angry at Owtsa and forced him into a car, shouting “Get out!” Outside! ” and attack the vehicle. German Ambassador to Israel Steffen Seibert also chased He was expelled from the museum after students threw shoes at him and smashed the windshield of his car as he tried to drive away.
palestine museum I kept my distance Both from mob action and EU diplomats. The administrators admitted that they had rented a room at the Belgian embassy, but claimed that they had not invited any of the ambassadors from the countries who attended today, and that they had not received a list of the names of those invited. he claimed.
The museum’s statement praised Belgium for “supporting the voice and cause of the Palestinian people since the beginning of the attack on the people of Gaza,” but added: “We would not have done so if we had known about the presence of ambassadors from non-supporting countries. “It would have been,” he added. I refused to rent out the hall. ”
The German government did not immediately issue a statement, but Mr. Outsa posted negative comments. response For attacks on social media.
“Peaceful protests and dialogue always have a role to play,” he said. “We regret that today’s meeting of EU Heads of Delegation at the National Museum in Birzeit was unduly interrupted by protesters.Nevertheless, we remain committed to cooperating constructively with our Palestinian partners. We are continuing to work on this.”
The Palestinian mob’s anger against the Germans may have been fueled by the following factors: news The International Court of Justice (ICJ) said on Tuesday that it would not order Germany to stop sending arms and aid to Israel.
In a 15-1 vote, the ICJ panel of judges rejected a lawsuit brought by Nicaragua, which argued that supplying weapons to Israel amounted to supporting genocide against Palestinians in Gaza.
“Germany is not a party to the Middle East conflict, quite the contrary. We are working day and night for a two-state solution. We are the largest donor of humanitarian aid to the Palestinians,” the German Foreign Office said. The ministry said in response to the ruling.
