Pro-Palestine protestors block Rue Belliard traffic

Rue Belliard in Brussels was blocked on Monday morning as the association 'BXL for Palestine' carried out an action of civil disobedience calling for the "liberation of Palestine".

The action took place on the sidelines of a European Union Council meeting regarding the situation in Israel and the region scheduled for yesterday morning. Activists blocked traffic until police removed them at about 9.40.

About 50 people had gathered at the junction of rue Belliard and rue du Commerce, forming human chains to block traffic.

The demonstrators held banners with slogans such as "EU, STOP financing colonisation", "Resistance" and "Free Palestine, Boycott Israel".

"We are blockading Brussels because for weeks we have been confronted with the total inaction and complicity of our governments, despite all the rallies and demonstrations of solidarity that have continued to grow throughout Europe," members of the association said.

The organisers demanded "an immediate ceasefire, the imposition of a military embargo on Israel, the appearance of Israeli prime minister Benyamin Netanyahu before the International Criminal Court, and the cancellation of current economic agreements with Israel".

Two police officers, who had no prior knowledge of the action, happened to be at the scene when it began and called in reinforcements who, after a dialogue with the demonstrators, ended up clearing them.

Photo: Lou Lampaert/Belga