Tens of thousands gathered in Brussels on Sunday afternoon to demand action against what organisers describe as a “brazen genocide by Israel against the entire Palestinian population,” during a protest calling for a “ceasefire and justice in Palestine,” supported by around 60 civil society organisations.
The demonstration, which began at Boulevard Simon Bolivar near the North Station, was set to proceed towards Midi Station along the Brussels canal, starting around 15:00 with an expected arrival at 16:30.
By 14:00, the crowd was already chanting “Free, free Palestine” and displaying signs, one of which read “Stop arming Israel.” A large white banner carried by numerous protestors bore the names of many Palestinians killed since the onset of the conflict.
Marking the ninth major march in Brussels for a ceasefire in Palestine, this protest coincides with the 77th anniversary of the “Nakba”—an event described by organisers as “the expulsion of Palestinians from their land during the establishment of Israel in 1948, followed by a continuous process of dispossession culminating in the ongoing genocide in the Gaza Strip over the past 19 months.”
The mobilisation is spearheaded by groups such as the Belgian-Palestinian Association (ABP), Amnesty International, the Palestinian collective Beitna, and others, including the trade unions FGTB and CSC, as well as the Union of Progressive Jews in Belgium (UPJB).
Organisers are urging the Belgian government to take urgent action against the “deliberately inflicted human disaster by Israel in Gaza” and to counter the “Israeli and US project of ethnic cleansing in the enclave.” Key demands include the imposition of a complete military embargo and the suspension of the EU-Israel association agreement.
