German police draw guns on peace activists protesting arms supplies to Israel

German police officers on Friday drew their guns on peaceful activists protesting arms maker Rheinmetall and its planned supplies to Israel, according to video footage shared by the group.

The footage appears to show at least two officers pointing their weapons at demonstrators after they arrived in a van outside a Rheinmetall site in Berlin's Wedding district.

“Hands up. Get out of there,” an officer can be heard saying in the footage, before police search the protesters, line them up facing the van and arrest them. The video also appears to show officers zip-tying the activists’ hands behind their backs.

The protest group Peacefully Against Genocide condemned the police response and said it would continue demonstrations targeting Rheinmetall’s production facility in Berlin.

Within weeks, the factory is set to produce ammunition intended for use in the ongoing genocide in Palestine, according to the group.

“Rheinmetall will produce ammunition here for a state that ruthlessly commits genocide in Palestine and Lebanon, and attacks Iran in violation of international law,” Emma Dorow, a member of the group, said in a statement.

Sari, one of the protesters at whom officers pointed a gun, said they would not give up their protest despite the police’s disproportionate use of force.

“None of the consequences I might face are even remotely comparable to what the people we are fighting for are experiencing, so all of this is irrelevant,” the activist said.