Dozens of pro-Palestinian demonstrators blocked entrances to Rheinmetall's Berlin headquarters, accusing the German arms maker of complicity in the conflicts in Gaza and Lebanon.
The demonstration, organised by the group "Peacefully Against Genocide", focused on Rheinmetall's ammunition manufacturing and plans for a new arms factory in Berlin.
This is following a larger protest at one of the company's facilities earlier in the week.
Greta Thunberg Joins Berlin Protest Blocking Rheinmetall Office Over Gaza Arms Supplies
Police deployed around 70 officers to remove demonstrators who had glued themselves to the entrances, with several protesters taken into custody during the operation.
Summary
Greta Thunberg joined dozens of pro-Palestinian demonstrators in blocking the entrances to German arms manufacturer Rheinmetall's Berlin headquarters on Monday, protesting the company's role in supplying weapons used by Israel in Gaza and Lebanon.
The demonstration, organised by the group "Peacefully Against Genocide" as part of a week of coordinated actions, saw protesters glue themselves to the building's entrances while wearing keffiyehs and chanting slogans against Germany's arms exports. The protest focused on Rheinmetall's ammunition production and its plans to build a new arms factory in Berlin.
Police deployed around 70 officers to remove the demonstrators, carrying them away from the entrances to nearby Pariser Platz, according to Bloomberg. Several protesters were detained.
The action followed a larger demonstration on Saturday, when around 1,800 people gathered outside a Rheinmetall facility in Berlin's Wedding district to protest the company's weapons production.
Speaking during Monday's protest, Thunberg criticised Rheinmetall's planned expansion.
"They are planning to build another arms factory which will produce ammunition which will be sent to Israel and arm them during the ongoing genocide, an apartheid occupation that has been going on for decades and also their attacks on Lebanon."
She added, "We are doing this because it is our duty to protest against injustice and to stand up against genocide. During a genocide, states and institutions have a legal duty to end the complicity which means ending arms transfers, cutting ties with genocidal states such as Israel and that's why we are stepping up to do the job that governments are not doing for us."
Protesters accused Rheinmetall and the German government of enabling Israel's military campaign by continuing arms production and exports. They called on the company to halt all production linked to Israel and abandon plans for the new Berlin facility.
Rheinmetall's Berlin plant, previously used to manufacture automotive components, has increasingly been repurposed since last year to produce parts for artillery ammunition. Protest organisers said they would continue demonstrations against the company's operations.
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(with inputs from Bloomberg and Anadolu Agency)
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