On November 21, the Workers’ Party of Belgium (PTB/PVDA) called on the Belgian government to impose a strict military embargo on Israel which has been carrying out a genocidal war against the Palestinians in Gaza. The party has reiterated such a demand in the backdrop of the news over the reported authorization given by the federal government (via SPF Economy) to transport military equipment to Israel, contrary to the concerns raised earlier by Prime Minister Alexander De Croo and Deputy Prime Minister Petra De Sutter over the Israeli actions.
Leftist and progressive sections, including trade unions, have already organized various rounds of mobilization demanding an immediate ceasefire in Gaza and against the supply of arms to Israel through Belgian ports and airstrips. In the wake of the ongoing relentless Israeli bombing of the Gaza Strip, Deputy Prime Minister Petra De Sutter called for sanctions on Israel, suspension of the association agreement between the EU and Israel, and referral to the International Criminal Court (ICC) to probe war crimes. Prime Minister Alexander De Croo had also stated earlier that Israel’s actions in Gaza are “no longer proportionate.”
Last week, Stephanie D’Hose, President of the Belgian Senate, denied permission to a bid by the Israeli ambassador to screen an Israeli propaganda video on the “Hamas attack on Israel” in front of the Belgian Senate Committee on Foreign Relations.
Read more | Belgian unions call on government to impose arms embargo on Israel
On November 21, the PTB demanded that the government’s public service enterprise Federal Public Service Economy (SPF Economy) must check licenses regarding regional export decrees and arms trade treaties and refuse them if weapons are used for war crimes and attacks on civilians. “We demand full transparency from the Prime Minister and Minister of Economy Pierre-Yves Dermagne, as well as the implementation of a strict military embargo against Israel, which commits serious war crimes,” added the party.
The PTB has also demanded that the Belgian government act to bring Israeli PM Benjamin Netanyahu before the International Criminal Court, suspend the preferential association agreement between the European Union and Israel, impose a military embargo on Israel, and recall the Belgian ambassador to Israel.”
In a joint statement on November 16, the General Labor Federation of Belgium (FGTB) and the Vredesactie [Peace Action] movement implored Brussels to review Belgium’s obligations under the Arms Trade Treaty, which it had ratified in 2013 and called for the imposition of a comprehensive arms embargo on Israel as it continues to wage a genocidal war on Palestine. Earlier, a “common union front” composed of the Belgian Union of Transport Workers (BTB), BBTK, ACV-Transcom, and the CSC declared that they would refuse to load and unload weapons in transit to Israel which were contributing to the “murder of innocent people.”
As of now, in the ongoing deadly Israeli bombing in Gaza, more than 14,000 people have been killed, 35,000 people have been wounded and 1.7 million Palestinians have been displaced.
