DR / Anonymous mountaineer collective
An anonymous mountaineer collective has suspended a gigantic Palestinian flag on the Pic du Petit Dru, in the Alps, near Chamonix.
France – A 145 m2 support message visible for miles around. Mountaineers deployed on Saturday August 16, a gigantic Palestinian flag on the west side of the Pic du Petit Dru, above Chamonix, to denounce “The inaction of governments against the current genocide in Gaza perpetrated by the government of Benyamin Netanyahu”.
The flag, 15 meters long by 9 meters wide, was deployed on a particularly steep side of the Col des Drus, which rises to more than 3,700 meters. “We, mountaineers, chose the mountain to wear this visual cry in the world. To suspend this flag is to recall that no wall, as high as it is, can hide the truth: a people is being exterminated, under the eyes of the world ”, explained the collective which claimed the action in a press release sent to the press.
The Israeli offensive in Gaza started after Hamas’ terrorist attack on October 7, 2023 left more than 62,000 people in the Palestinian enclave, mainly civilians, according to data from the Hamas Ministry of Health, deemed reliable by the UN. “We, mountaineers, refuse that the world of sport and outdoor remains silent in the face of a genocide. Sport has always been a political lever, and use this means of expression to convey a humanist message appeared to us as obvious ”, denounces the collective.
These mountaineers call for France to work “Concretely to the implementation of a solution to two viable and secure states for the peaceful coexistence of the two nations” and to apply “The arrest warrant issued by the ICC against the war criminals Benjamin Netanyahu and Yoav Gallant”.
Very quickly removed by the authorities
This flag had to be initially suspended “For three days”specifies the collective. But it was withdrawn from August 17 by helicopter by the mountain units of the national gendarmerie at the request of the prefecture and the town hall, justifying that the site is classified, reported here the country of Savoy.
“The authorities have deployed great means to try to win it by helicopter, in this steep and difficult to access side. The disproportionate mobilization of the gendarmerie to remove this flag, like the repression of Palestinian flags on the Tour de France, questions us: a symbol of hope for an oppressed people has become an offense? »»questioned the collective.
A source in the gendarmerie of Chamonix indicated to the Pays de Savoie that the gendarmes had removed the flag in an hour, “Without taking any risks”, Despite the danger of the operation on this particularly steep wall, one of the steepest in the Alps. “It was a good job, climb with a flag of 15 meters by 9 … The guys who access this kind of walls are very good mountaineers”, she added.
