Palestine flag on the Reichstag: Politicians and police react

dpa | After an activist hoisted the Palestine flag in front of the Bundestag in Berlin, the Berlin police announced consequences for their security precautions: "We are of course taking yesterday's event as an opportunity and will adapt our protective measures, i.e. the Berlin police's protective measures for the external protection of the German Bundestag, accordingly," said spokesman Martin Halweg of the German Press Agency. He didn't give any details.

“Nevertheless, it must also be said at this point that we do not have the staff to permanently post a colleague at this flagpole 24 hours a day, seven days a week,” emphasized the spokesman. The police have always taken protective measures that cannot be disclosed in detail for security reasons, and sometimes for police tactical considerations.

On Sunday, a man climbed the flagpole in front of the Reichstag building and replaced the German flag with a Palestinian flag. Union faction leader Thorsten Frei described this action to the Rheinische Post as a denigration of the state, in which activists were abusing the valuable right to demonstrate.

Berlin's Governing Mayor Kai Wegner (CDU) described the act as "unbearable", especially on the eve of November 9th. “Anyone who tears down the black, red and gold in front of the Reichstag and hoists a Palestine flag shows their contempt for our democracy,” he wrote on Platform X.

Bundestag President Julia Klöckner (CDU) demanded on Sunday in response to the incident: “Our German Bundestag needs more protection!”

The CDU politician Frei also suggested the reintroduction of a ban mile because of the incident. “In view of the increasingly aggressive forms of protest, the question arises as to whether the current protection is still sufficient,” he told the Rheinische Post. The state should draw clear boundaries where targeted disruptions and intimidation affect the work of parliament and the government, he said.

A certain area around the Reichstag building and surrounding Bundestag buildings is currently considered a pacified district. According to the Bundestag, demonstrations and meetings are only permitted here if they do not impair the activities of the Bundestag or the parliamentary groups. This is the case if there are no meetings in the Bundestag on the day of the protest.

According to information, until 1999 there was the ban mile brought into play by Frei around the parliament in Bonn. Open-air gatherings and demonstrations were prohibited within this area.