Antwerp, Belgium | Saturday 11/01/2025 (Republic of Palestine).
-The Belgian city of Antwerp witnessed a massive demonstration, as hundreds of activists and participants gathered in Waterpoort Square despite the cold and foggy weather. The march was in response to a call by the Belgian Coalition for Palestine, a new coalition of civil society organizations, trade unions, student and peace movements, to demand that the city of Antwerp review its relations with Israeli institutions and companies.
Clear demands and calls for boycotts
The march was opened with a speech by the representative of the Palestinian community in Belgium, Hamdan Al-Damiri, who thanked the participants and the organizers. He called for an end to the twinning agreement between the city of Antwerp and the occupied city of Haifa, noting the importance of popular pressure to achieve this goal. He mentioned the experience of the municipality of Ixelles, which froze the twinning agreement with the occupied municipality of Megiddo last November after a series of popular campaigns.
Damiri stressed that the current twinning agreement includes cooperation between the police organizations of the two cities, which reinforces the need to end this relationship. He also called on the Belgian solidarity parties to put the issue of cancelling the twinning with Haifa on the agenda of the city council.
An international message of solidarity
Abdel Hawi, coordinator of the Antwerp Handala Association, gave a televised speech in which he stressed the importance of popular participation in supporting the Palestinian cause. Al-Hawi called on the Antwerp city council to boycott Israeli institutions and end economic cooperation with Israeli police agencies that support the occupation.
Al-Hawi noted that this demonstration is aimed at pressuring European governments to change their policies towards the Israeli occupation. He added that the economic and political boycott is an effective tool to fight the occupation and weaken its ability to continue.
“Genocide cannot continue.”
Jasper Thijs, spokesman for the Belgian Coalition for Palestine, stated, “We are already on the 462nd day of the genocide in Gaza. 46,000 Palestinians were killed, 500 of them since the beginning of 2025. This situation cannot continue.” Thijs stressed the importance of the city of Antwerp adopting an ethical purchasing policy that prevents the import of products from companies that benefit from the illegal occupation of the Palestinian territories, as cities such as Ghent have done. He also called for the suspension of trade missions to Israel, the re-evaluation of the relationship with the “twin” city of Haifa and the cessation of arms transfers to Israel through the port of Antwerp.
An unanswered open letter
The coalition spokesman revealed that an open letter was sent to the city council on January 2, which included all the demands, but so far no response has been received. “We hope that this march will create a constructive dialogue with the Antwerp city council, as happened in Ghent and Liège,” he added.
A message of support and firmness
Participants in the march also sent a clear message of solidarity to the Palestinian people, stressing that the voice of international solidarity is getting louder all over the world. They demanded the end of the occupation and crimes against the Palestinians, stressing that the struggle for freedom and justice will not stop.
