Majority of Belgians back sanctions on 'Israel': Poll

By Al Mayadeen English
Source: News websites
7 Nov 2024 09:27

The survey indicates that 54% of Belgians favor EU and Belgian sanctions on "Israel", while 14% oppose them.

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Palestinians mourn as they carry the bodies of relatives killed in the Israeli bombardment of the Gaza Strip at a hospital in Deir al-Balah, Sunday, Oct. 20, 2024 (AP)

The majority of Belgians are in favor of imposing sanctions on "Israel", A survey released on Wednesday by a prominent NGO coalition revealed.

According to the Coalition of the North-South Movement in Flanders, 54% of Belgians support the European Union and Belgium taking action against "Israel", while 14% oppose it.

Additionally, 73% of respondents back an immediate and permanent ceasefire in the Gaza Strip and nearly half call for an immediate halt to trade with Israeli settlements in the occupied Palestinian territories.

Els Hertogen, director of the coalition, commented on the findings, saying, "While genocide is taking place in Gaza, the loudest outrage is not coming from world leaders, but from ordinary citizens; The calls for a ceasefire, sanctions, and a strong defense of human rights are louder than ever before."

She added, "It is high time that the international community makes it clear that war crimes and genocide do not go unpunished."

It is worth noting that nearly 32,000 people marched in Belgium’s capital last month, demanding an immediate ceasefire in Gaza and Lebanon, according to a police report. The calls for a ceasefire arise as the Israeli occupation persists in its aggression against the Gaza Strip and Lebanon.

This occupation has plunged the people of Gaza into a humanitarian crisis, resulting in engineered starvation and a blockade of the northern region of the Strip.

Belgium investigates war crimes by Belgian-Israeli soldier in Gaza

This comes as Belgian authorities announced last month that they have opened an investigation into potential war crimes committed by a Belgian-Israeli soldier partaking in the Israeli genocide in Gaza.

The federal prosecutor's office confirmed that the investigation focuses on a Belgian citizen serving in an IOF elite unit, which includes other dual passport holders.

"We have opened a file on possible war crimes," a spokesperson for the prosecutor's office told AFP.

The suspect, whose identity remains undisclosed, is reportedly a man in his 20s from Uccle, a wealthy suburb of Brussels.

The investigation, which officially began on Wednesday, was sparked by the work of Palestinian journalist Younis Tirawi, who has been documenting the ongoing war on Gaza.

Tirawi accused an Israeli sniper unit known as "Refaim," or "Ghosts" in Hebrew, of carrying out "brutal executions of unarmed civilians" in Gaza.

Moreover, Belgium's Justice Minister Paul Van Tigchelt has lately announced that the Belgian investigation aims to "verify the information published in the press."

"Israel has the right to self-defense," he alleged, "but that does not exempt it from its obligation to respect international humanitarian law," Van Tigchelt told parliament.

He also stated that the federal prosecutor's office would coordinate with the International Criminal Court (ICC) in The Hague, where the chief prosecutor has already sought arrest warrants for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Security Minister Yoav Gallant over war crimes and crimes against humanity in Gaza.