Around 32,000 people took part in a demonstration in Brussels on Sunday afternoon to call for a ceasefire in Gaza and Lebanon. The demonstrators also called on the Belgian government to press for a full internation military embargo against Isreal.
The organisers of Sunday’s demonstration that include the not-for-profit group Vrede (peace) and the left-of-centre civil society organisation Hard Boven Hard and the trade unions quote a recent study that was published in the medical journal ‘The Lancet’ in which it was stated that the death toll in Gaza “could be as high as 186,000”.
In addition to the offensive in Gaza, Isreal has also launched offensives on the West Bank and in Lebanon where it is fighting against Hezbollah. In both cases many civilians are among the casualties.
The protesters demanded an immediate and permanent ceasefire, as well as the protection of all civilians, the release of all prisoners and an end to the “illegal occupation and colonisation of occupied Palestinian territory”.
"We want the next Belgian government to help increase international pressure on Isreal to reach an agreement on an immediate and permanent ceasefire and to take the initiative to impose a full international military embargo. It should also give its full support to the proceedings brought by South Africa against Israel at the International Court of Justice (ICJ) to end the genocide and ethnic cleansing of the Palestinian people”, those behind the demonstration said in a press release.