Pro-Palestinian protests in Johannesburg and Cape Town went off peacefully on Wednesday – with one tense but brief incident in Johannesburg - as cities in Europe banned similar gatherings citing public safety fears.

In Johannesburg, police whisked away a lone counter-protester with an Israeli flag as demonstrators in front of the US consulate in Sandton hurled threats and insults. Some protesters followed, and one tried to grab the flag before a protest marshal intervened.

In Cape Town, a protest outside the Jewish Community Centre saw a far milder verbal tussle, as police tried to keep traffic flowing.

"Please do not block the road. Motorists are trying to make their way home during the peak traffic," said an officer over a loudspeaker. 

Protesters demanded that police patrol violent areas such as the Cape Flats instead.

"Why are you here, officer? Go police there in the hotspot areas where our people are being shot daily. You are keeping us boxed here at a peaceful gathering while parents are burying their toddlers killed during gang violence," said Gammat Arendse. 

The Cape Town gathering called for more strident government condemnation of Israel - as well as action.

"Our government is aware that there are lots of South Africans who have dual citizenship with Israel that at the drop of a hat go and kill our Palestinian brothers," said Cassiem Parker.

Usuf Chikte, the coordinator for the Palestine Solidarity Campaign in Cape Town, said there would be more similar gatherings this week. 

In Johannesburg a group of about 500 chanted slogans such as "Down with America" and heard calls for boycotts of South African and multinational companies with perceived links to Israel. 

Bans in Europe

In Vienna, Austrian police banned a pro-Palestinian rally that had been due to take place on Wednesday evening, saying they feared violence.

Police said the demonstration was "aimed at creating a climate that would export the conflict that is under way onto the streets" of the capital.

Police chief Gerhard Purstl said invitations to the rally had been found on the internet with codes used by Hamas. Islamist symbols, including Hamas flags, are banned in public spaces in Austria.

Purstl told APA news agency that the rally had to be banned as it threatened "security and public order".

BDS called the rally for almost the same time as another event taking place in the city in support of Israel.

In Berlin, two pro-Palestinian gatherings set for Wednesday were also banned.

Earlier this week skirmishes broke out between pro-Israel and pro-Palestinian groups near the United Nations compound in New York. In San Francisco, police stepped in to separate two similar groups. 

During Tuesday and Wednesday, protests supporting one side or the other – and sometimes both on opposite sides of cities – took place in cities including Barcelona, Brasilia, Buenos Aires, Las Vegas, Rome and Vancouver.

Paris banned two pro-Palestinian gatherings that had been planned for Thursday, saying they would be "the scene of behaviours, slogans and acts of a principally anti-Jewish nature, inciting racial hate and making excuses for the [Hamas] terrorist attacks."

Pro-Palestine protests have also been banned in Lyon and Marseille this week on the basis of public order.