Several pro-Palestinian groups and demonstrators have criticised the increasingly repressive actions of police officers from the Brussels-Capital/Ixelles zone during daily gatherings in front of the Brussels Stock Exchange, aimed at demanding an end to what they describe as genocide in Gaza.
These spontaneous protests have been occurring every day at 19:00 in Brussels for over a year, initially held at the Europe Roundabout, but for several months now, they have taken place at the Stock Exchange square, attracting less than a hundred people on average.
“We do this because we refuse to let our loved ones, our people – the Gazans – die in silence,” stated Brussels Against Genocide and Ahrar Palestine in a statement released on social media on Saturday.
Since 2 March, no humanitarian aid has been allowed to enter the Palestinian territory, which has a population of 2.4 million, and Israel resumed its offensive there on 18 March.
There has been a noticeable escalation in tension since early April, notably with the arrest of several Palestinian protestors at these daily rallies, a situation exacerbated after violence erupted around the Belgian Cup football final on 4 May.
“Over the past two days, police have arrested two of our members, both from Gaza,” lamented the collectives on Saturday, vowing not to be silenced by law enforcement.
According to several testimonies collected by Belga and others circulating on social media, police interventions have been described as “disproportionate”, involving the “frequent” use of crowd control methods such as kettling and tear gas.
“A friend and his younger brother were struck on the head and chest by police on the sidelines of last Thursday’s gathering and had to be hospitalised,” reported Cléo, one of the protesters.
