German branch of ‘Fridays for Future’ distances itself from Greta Thunberg over Israel remarks

Decision comes two days after Thunberg chanted ‘no climate justice on occupied land’ in Amsterdam

The German chapter of Greta Thunberg’s Fridays for Future movement distanced itself from the climate activist after she expressed support for Palestine.

The German chapter said Ms Thunberg did not represent their views on the ongoing conflict.

The decision comes two days after Ms Thunberg chanted “no climate justice on occupied land” in Amsterdam.

At a climate protest in Amsterdam, Netherlands on Sunday, Ms Thunberg called for a ceasefire in Gaza where continued bombing by Israel has killed over 10,000 people, half of whom are children.

“As a climate justice movement, we have to listen to the voices of those who are being oppressed and those who are fighting for freedom and for justice,” Ms Thunberg, wearing the Palestinian black and white scarf, said.

“Otherwise, there can be no climate justice without international solidarity.”

She also called a Palestinian and an Afghan national on stage as the crowd chanted for a ceasefire.

However, she immediately faced opposition at the rally as a man got on stage and interrupted her, trying to snatch the microphone, saying he had come for a climate protest, not for her other views.

Before she took the stage, she was also briefly interrupted as a small group of activists at the front of the crowd waved Palestinian flags and chanted pro-Palestinian slogans.

Her statements in Amsterdam marked “the end of Greta Thunberg as a climate activist”, said Volker Becker, the president of the German-Israel Society DIG, according to AFP.

The protest in Amsterdam, held 10 days before the country’s general elections, saw around 70,000 people join the march, including former EU climate chief Frans Timmermans, who will lead the combined Labour and Green parties at the upcoming election.

Organisers said the turnout was the largest ever at a climate protest in the Netherlands.