Pro-Palestinian activists disrupt Belgian university's procession over Israel ties

By Melike Pala

BRUSSELS (AA) - Around 100 pro-Palestinian activists staged a die-in on Wednesday during the traditional commencement procession of KU Leuven University, denouncing its academic cooperation with Israel, local media reported.

In total, about 170 activists gathered on both sides of Naamsestraat in Leuven, the traditional starting point of the procession, daily La Libre reported.

As a group of professors, led by newly appointed Rector Severine Vermeire and her UCLouvain counterpart Francoise Smets, left the university hall, dozens of activists lay on the ground to block their passage.

Police intervened to allow the professors to bypass the protesters after about 10 minutes.

"Israel is increasingly committed to genocide and its murderous campaign. Protest is more necessary than ever," Karel Arnaut, professor of anthropology at KU Leuven, was quoted as saying.

He urged the university to withdraw from EU Horizon research programs involving Israel, stressing that new projects had been launched since 2023, which he called "unacceptable."

Last week, the rectors of Belgium's 10 universities sent a letter to European authorities calling for the suspension of the EU-Israel association agreement. Vermeire reiterated this call on Wednesday, stressing that such a step would enable universities to disengage from multilateral projects.

The Israeli army has killed almost 65,000 Palestinians, most of them women and children, in Gaza since October 2023. The relentless bombardment has rendered the enclave uninhabitable and led to famine and the spread of diseases.