Pro-Palestine supporters disrupt von der Leyen speech in Porto

The speech by President of the European Commission and candidate of the European People’s Party for a second term in office at the European Parliament, Ursula von der Leyen, was interrupted on Thursday (6 June) in Porto by dozens of demonstrators in support of the Palestinians, who called for a ‘free Palestine’ from Israel’s bombardments.

Von der Leyen had just started speaking at a rally in the centre of Porto and was praising the support of the leader of the PSD, Luís Montenegro, and the AD’s list leader, Sebastião Bugalho when around 20 protesters interrupted her words by shouting ‘Free Palestine’. Protesters also painted their hands red to symbolise the loss of over 36,000 Palestinians, mainly women and children, since October 2023.

Von der Leyen tried to continue her speech, but attention at the rally was centred on the protesters, who eventually left the venue accompanied by the police.

‘If you were in Moscow, you’d be in prison right now,’ commented Ursula von der Leyen, comparing the protest to the war in Ukraine caused by the Russian invasion.

Von der Leyen’s campaign has been marked by her pro-Israel stance in the Middle East conflict.

The demonstrators shouted slogans such as ‘you can hide, but you can’t hide that you finance genocide’ or ‘what a shame it must be to defend genocide to have something to eat’.

The police immediately intervened and removed the demonstrators, one of whom was thrown to the ground. They then escorted them to a street further away from the rally, where the protests continued.

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