BRUSSELS, BELGIUM – Around 9,000 demonstrators marched through Brussels on Sunday calling for an end of Israel’s fierce bombardment and fighting in Gaza, in a pro-Palestinian protest that ended in the EU district.
The march came a day before EU foreign ministers will meet their Israeli, Palestinian, Egyptian, Saudi and Jordanian counterparts in a string of meetings to discuss the ongoing war in Gaza and the plight of Palestinian civilians.
Participants in the peaceful “Justice for Palestine” demonstration, whose size was estimated by Brussels police, yelled out “stop genocide”, “Israel: terrorist” and “free Gaza”.
Some also cried out “EU, shame on you” for perceived inaction by Brussels to protect Palestinian civilians while others urged a boycott on Israeli goods and businesses.
“We really need to unite against the genocide happening in Gaza and fight for an end to Israel’s occupation,” said one demonstrator, Victor Dumont.
“No people deserves that, whatever side they’re on — it’s not possible,” said another, Bahija Dioure.
On Monday, the 27 EU ministers will first meet with Israel’s Foreign Minister Israel Katz, before sitting down separately with the Palestinian Authority’s top diplomat Riyad al-Maliki.
Katz and Maliki are not expected to meet each other.
Hamas, the group that controls the Gaza Strip, launched a surprise attack on Israel on October 7, resulting in the death of about 1,140 people in Israel, most of them civilians, according to an AFP tally based on official figures.
The group also seized about 250 hostages during the attacks, around 132 of whom Israel says remain in Gaza.
Israel has vowed to “annihilate” Hamas in response and its relentless air and ground offensive has killed at least 25,000 Palestinians, around 70 percent of them women, children and adolescents, according to figures from the Hamas-run health ministry.