2023-11-05 21:00:13
Several thousand people gathered on Sunday on Place de l’Albertine, in the center of Brussels, to demand an immediate ceasefire in the Gaza Strip. The police counted some 2,000 participants, while the organizers counted around 6,000.
The Gaza Strip has been heavily bombarded by the Israeli army since the attack on October 7 by Hamas on Israeli soil. This ended with the death of 1,400 people, mostly civilians, and the hostage-taking of some 240 others. The Israeli response has already cost the lives of 9,770 people, including 4,800 children.
In Brussels, demonstrators responded to the call of several organizations, including the Belgian-Palestinian Association (ABP). The speeches emphasized the importance of an immediate ceasefire and the protection of the civilian population. The speakers also called for an investigation by the International Criminal Court, so that those responsible for war crimes and crimes against humanity are prosecuted. The structural causes of the conflict, such as the Israeli occupation and colonization of the Palestinian territories and the policy of apartheid carried out by the Jewish state against the Palestinian people, must also be addressed, they continued.
“The large turnout observed at the numerous rallies and demonstrations organized across the country to demand a ceasefire in Gaza illustrates the strong solidarity enjoyed by the Palestinian people among Belgian citizens and civil society.“, declared Gregory Mauzé, spokesperson for the Belgian-Palestinian Association. The Belgian government “and the European Union must hear this message and do everything possible to force Israel to establish the ceasefire demanded by the vast majority of States and by humanitarian and human rights organizations. They must also (…) stop being complicit in the war crimes and crimes against humanity perpetrated by Israel, starting with the establishment of a military embargo against the latter and the ban on trade with Israeli settlements.”
The demonstration took place peacefully. The organizers have already announced a “European march of solidarity with Palestine” on Saturday November 11. It will leave at 2:00 p.m. from the Gare du Nord in Brussels.
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