Pro-Palestinian activists in Belgium target companies supplying weapons to Israel

By Burak Bir

LONDON (AA) - Pro-Palestine activists in Belgium blockaded two companies on Monday said to be linked Israel's military supply chain, providing weapons and military technology.

Around 70 participants from Palestine Action Belgium chained themselves to the entrance of an industrial zone in the East Flemish city of Oudenaarde, where OIP Sensor Systems is located, The Brussels Times reported.

The group took similar action against the company in December.

Separately, about 50 others from the group blocked the entrance to the company Thales in the city of Herstal.

They aimed to protest against the firms over their links to "Israeli apartheid."

In the UK, the group's activists targeted Smiths Metal's headquarters in Bedfordshire, blaming the company for supplying components for Israel's F-35 fighter jets.

Israel has launched a deadly offensive on the Gaza Strip following a cross-border incursion by the Palestinian group Hamas on Oct. 7. The ensuing Israeli bombardment has killed 30,534 people and injured 71,920 others with mass destruction and shortages of necessities.

The Israeli war has pushed 85% of Gaza’s population into internal displacement amid acute shortages of food, clean water and medicine, while 60% of the enclave's infrastructure has been damaged or destroyed, according to the UN.

Israel stands accused of genocide at the International Court of Justice. An interim ruling in January ordered Tel Aviv to stop genocidal acts and take measures to guarantee that humanitarian assistance is provided to civilians in Gaza.