Thousands of demonstrators in Brussels, the headquarters of the European Union institutions, yesterday Sunday called for economic and diplomatic pressure and the imposition of sanctions on Israel to stop its attacks on the Gaza Strip.
Tens of thousands gathered in the Belgian capital, demanding an immediate end to the Israeli attacks on Gaza.
The demonstration included employees from the European Union, Belgian politicians, and representatives of various sectors, along with students who were protesting across Europe.
The demonstrators, wearing Palestinian keffiyehs and carrying Palestinian flags and banners bearing slogans such as “Boycott Israel” and “Stop genocide,” marched through the city’s main streets, demanding action.
During the protests, messages from journalists in Gaza were displayed on giant screens, followed by a minute of silence for the victims in Jean Rhy Square, between the headquarters of the European Parliament and the Council of the European Union.
Politicians, including European Parliament member Mark Bottinga and Peter Mertens of the Belgian Labor Party, stressed the need for member states of the European bloc to impose sanctions on Israel.
The head of the Long Live Palestine Party in Belgium, Diab Abu Yahya, stressed the importance of new initiatives to address the ongoing crisis.
Abu Yahya said that the protests gave hope but were also disappointing, because they did not lead to concrete political steps.
Since October 7, 2023, the Israeli war on the Gaza Strip has left more than 114,000 dead and wounded, most of them children and women, and about 10,000 missing, amid massive destruction and famine that claimed the lives of children and the elderly.
Israel continues the war despite the issuance of a resolution by the UN Security Council to stop the fighting immediately, and also despite the International Court of Justice demanding immediate measures to prevent acts of genocide and improve the humanitarian situation in the Gaza Strip.
