Wikipedia
Occasionally, one encounters—unfortunately, also in Bosnia and Herzegovina—the slogan: “From the river to the sea, Palestine will be free!” It is chanted at pro-Palestinian demonstrations in many countries. The question arises whether those who propagate this slogan understand what they are actually demanding: a unified, democratic state for Palestinians and Israelis? Or the erasure of the State of Israel, which lies between the Jordan River and the Mediterranean Sea, from the map? Or even the expulsion or annihilation of the Israeli people living there?
In any case, those who use this slogan could and should be aware that the Palestinian terrorist organization Hamas, which incorporated this phrase into its charter in 2017, along with other extremist Palestinians, explicitly calls for Israel’s destruction through it. The barbaric terrorist attack carried out by Hamas on Israel on October 7, 2023—the rocket strikes, the massacre of over 1,200 people, primarily young individuals, including foreigners from Germany and elsewhere, their hostage-taking, and the more than 5,400 injured—was legitimized by Hamas and its supporters with this slogan. They deny the State of Israel its right to exist.
This triggered Israel’s brutal war against Hamas terrorists, who have ruled Gaza dictatorially since 2007 and continue to hold Israeli hostages there—if they are still alive. It is the Palestinian population in Gaza who has borne unimaginable suffering, being used as hostages in the war caused by Hamas and driven into this human catastrophe.
As of October 7, 2023, it is therefore politically irresponsible to interpret the slogan “From the river to the sea...” merely as a call for “freedom and equality” for Palestinians. Its dissemination in this context is—as would be the case for the slogan “From the river to the sea, Israel will be free”—a dangerous act. It does not aim for a peaceful, free, and legally democratic coexistence of Palestinians and Israelis, for instance in a confederation of two states prospering together in this region, but instead perpetuates a conflict in which one side denies the other’s right to exist. In Germany, the use of this slogan has been a criminal offense since November 2023.
There are valid reasons to lament the situation in the former British Mandate territory of Palestine: the numerous wars, the unresolved Israeli-Palestinian conflict, the current catastrophic conditions of the people in Gaza, the plight of the hostages—all of which merit critical political discussion. The International Criminal Court sent a strong signal on November 21, 2024, with arrest warrants for the deceased Hamas leader Mohammed Deif and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, accusing them of causing war crimes and crimes against humanity. According to Hamas, whose claims remain unverifiable, over 46,000 Palestinians have been killed and over 110,000 injured in this war, including many children. However, one should not align with terrorists and extremists or their slogans, which are a fundamental cause of the conflict. The goal must be the swift end of this war, the liberation of all hostages, the establishment of a free and democratic Palestinian state free from the rule of terrorists and autocrats and ensuring Israel’s security. Only then can we jointly proclaim: “From the river to the sea, all people in Palestine will be free!”
