Anti-Israeli slogan prosecuted under criminal law

The slogan "From the river to the sea", which is often used at pro-Palestinian demonstrations, will also be prosecuted in Saxony in future. The opinion of the Munich Public Prosecutor General's Office is also shared by the Dresden Public Prosecutor General's Office, the Dresden authority said on Tuesday. "For practice in the Free State of Saxony, this means that corresponding investigations will be initiated and carried out," a spokesperson said.

On Friday, it had already become known that the slogan would be prosecuted in Bavaria in future. Public prosecutors in other federal states had also announced that they would classify the slogan accordingly and prosecute it.

The background to this is the ban on the terrorist organization Hamas and the organization Samidoun, which was issued by the Federal Ministry of the Interior. On page three of the ban order, at the end of a long list of symbols banned in Germany, such as flags or headbands, is the short sentence: "As well as the slogan "From the river to the sea" (in German or in another language)".

The phrase dates back to the 1960s, when it was used by the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO). It is intended to express that the aim is the complete liberation of Palestine from the Jordan River to the Mediterranean Sea - which would also include the territory of Israel.