On Monday, pro-Palestinian activist groups targeted BNP Paribas Fortis bank branches in Ghent, Brussels, Liège, and Verviers, covering storefronts with messages supporting Palestine.
According to a statement by Palestine Action sent to the Belga News Agency on Tuesday, activists are calling for a "strict investment policy regarding war crimes and colonisation in Palestine."
Specifically, they want BNP Paribas Fortis to divest from Elbit Systems, an Israeli arms manufacturer.
They demand the bank adopt an internal charter that clarifies its investment policies in companies linked to Israeli weapons and the colonisation and occupation of Palestine, while calling to sever all ties with them.
The activist groups threaten to increase pressure on the bank unless it commits to completely severing partnerships with businesses involved in Israeli colonisation and occupation of Palestinian territories.
Previously, Extinction Rebellion activists also targeted BNP Paribas Fortis in Leuven in early April, and in Bruges, Ghent, and Antwerp in late March, protesting loans given to Elbit Systems and the bank’s support for violence in Gaza.
On Monday, Israel announced a new military campaign in the Gaza Strip, aiming to "capture" the Palestinian territory, which, according to the military, will require relocating "most" of its residents internally.
The previous day, the Israeli army confirmed the recall of "tens of thousands of reservists."
