Activists from Amnesty International staged a protest on Monday outside the office of Belgian Prime Minister Bart De Wever, calling on the government to implement measures agreed upon six months ago concerning the Gaza dossier, including a ban on imports from illegal Israeli settlements in occupied Palestinian territory.
The demonstration took place on Wetstraat in front of De Wever’s office, where Amnesty criticised what it described as a lack of progress on key commitments aimed at addressing violations of international law by Israel.
“Six months after this step forward, which had been awaited for more than a year by tens of thousands of people who mobilised in Belgium, the government has fallen back into an unbearable inertia, even as the genocide in Gaza continues, despite the illusion of a lull maintained by an imperfectly respected ceasefire,” Carine Thibaut, director of the French-speaking Belgian section of Amnesty International, said in a statement.
‘Honour commitments’
Amnesty acknowledged that some measures have been implemented but said several “crucial actions” remain unfulfilled, adding: “We call on the Belgian government to stop turning a blind eye and to honour its commitments.”