Tens of thousands of people joined a massive demonstration in solidarity with Palestine in Brussels on May 11. Organizers estimated that between 60,000 and 80,000 people participated in the mobilization to demand an immediate and permanent ceasefire and an end to Belgian and European support for the genocide in the Gaza Strip, including the implementation of an arms embargo. The protest was coordinated by dozens of organizations that have been mobilizing for justice for Palestine over the past 19 months.
The event aimed to increase pressure on the Belgian government, led by the so-called Arizona coalition, which protesters consider to be avoiding meaningful action that could help stop Israeli crimes in the occupied territories. “None of the parties in government…are willing to take concrete action to stop these horrors,” the Workers’ Party of Belgium (PTB-PVDA) stated. “Bart De Wever and Georges-Louis Bouchez even go so far as to question whether this is genocide.”
“Belgium can no longer shirk its responsibilities,” added the Belgian-Palestinian Association (Association Belgo-Palestinienne, ABP). “It must contribute to increasing the pressure to force Israel to comply with international and humanitarian law.”
According to the ABP and other co-organizers, an important tool in the hands of European countries is the EU-Israel Association Agreement. The organizations have called for EU member states to pressure union governing bodies to suspend the agreement on the basis of human rights violations, and to escalate action by expelling Israeli ambassadors and severing all trade ties.
Sunday’s demonstration also aimed to emphasize the continuity of Israel’s crimes against Palestine since the Nakba. “[The Nakba] was followed by 77 years of colonialism, apartheid, annexations, dehumanization, deprivation (including the blockade of the Gaza Strip), and systematic oppression of all components of the Palestinian people,” the ABP wrote. “This ‘ongoing Nakba’ and its trail of injustices and atrocities must end.”
With solidarity movements in Belgium and across Europe representing a primary regional force for justice and accountability regarding the genocide in Gaza, the demonstration also raised concerns about increasing repression faced by solidarity activists. Among other examples, participants pointed to growing pressure on daily protests in Brussels, where activists have been arrested and intimidated by police on numerous occasions.
