A student and academic strike is set to take place today across several Belgian university campuses to denounce the situation in the Gaza Strip, the ULBPalestine movement announced on Wednesday.
A carte blanche opinion piece has also been published, condemning, among other things, the continued collaborations between Belgian universities and Israeli institutions.
Picket lines are expected outside several campuses, while leaflets have been distributed in lecture halls, calling on more students to join the protest. Organisers say a series of events focusing on the Palestinian cause will also take place in Namur, Brussels, Louvain and Ghent.
The movement accuses university rectors of failing to keep their promises to cut ties with Israeli partners. They argue that the recent announcement of a peace deal concerning Gaza "does not change the responsibility of universities to sever their links with Israeli institutions", citing "ongoing apartheid, colonisation and occupation".
The signatories of the carte blanche refer to a July 2024 ruling by the International Court of Justice (ICJ), which found Israel's occupation of Palestinian territories to be illegal and said that states and public institutions must not contribute to it.
In May 2025, Belgian universities had pledged to call for the suspension of the EU-Israel association agreement. But according to the strike organisers, "despite ethical committees and legal opinions", more than one hundred collaborations with Israeli institutions remain in place across the country's universities.
Students have also denounced what they see as "double standards": after Russia invaded Ukraine in 2022, partnerships with Russian universities were swiftly suspended. They argue that similar measures should apply to Israeli institutions.
The strike forms part of the wider international academic boycott campaign "Stop Funding Genocide EU".
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