This afternoon at 2:30 p.m., 32,000 people according to the police and 70,000 according to the organizers, demonstrated demanding a ceasefire in the Gaza Strip and Lebanon.
In the middle of the day, tens of thousands of demonstrators left Gare du Nord to go to Place Rey not far from Parc du Cinquantenaire. According to organizers, it is one of the largest gatherings since the start of the war in Gaza which began a year ago.
“After a year of war, the situation in the Gaza Strip is more critical than ever, particularly in the north of the territory, where the destroyed, bombed and starved population is the subject of a veritable extermination plan. The only way to put an end to the ordeal of the Palestinian and Lebanese people and to ensure the protection and security of all the peoples of the region is the establishment of a permanent ceasefire.” declares Gregory Mauzé, spokesperson for the Belgian-Palestinian Association.
So, the demonstrators today are demanding the establishment of diplomatic sanctions against Israel as well as a military embargo. They wish that the Belgium complies with the advisory opinion of July 19 of the International Court of Justice relating to the occupation of the Palestinian Territory, which establishes clear responsibilities for third States, including “measures to prevent trade and investments that help maintain the illicit situation created by Israel in the Occupied Palestinian Territory“. This notably imposes a ban on trade with Israeli settlements in occupied Palestinian territory. A large majority of 124 countries, including Belgium and 13 other EU members, approved the measures requested by the Court in a resolution of the United Nations General Assembly on September 13.
Ca.Pa.
■ A report from Charlotte Verbruggen, Alexandre D’haeseleer et Stephanie Mira
Belgium
