Brussels for Palestine: the demonstration calling for an end to trade agreements with Israel

Brussels – The Palestinian people’s right to self-determination and return, the suspension of trade agreements with Israel, and an end to arms sales to Tel Aviv: these are the demands that will bring again thousands of people onto the streets of the Belgian capital this coming Sunday, 17 May. The national mobilisation, which will start at 2 pm at Gare du Nord, is organised by the Belgian National Coalition for Palestine, comprising some thirty trade unions and social and humanitarian organisations. “What we are witnessing today is part of a long history of deprivation and violence that began with the Nakba of 1948, when some 800,000 Palestinians were forced to flee—and their descendants are still denied the right to return,” the statement reads. “The Nakba is not a closed chapter: it is an ongoing process of colonisation, apartheid, displacement, genocide, and denial of rights that continues to unfold before our eyes in 2026,” the statement continues.

 The call to action highlights the complicity of European governments in maintaining political and military relations with Israel. The demands are the same as ever and have always been ignored: recognition of the fundamental rights of the Palestinian people, particularly the right to self-determination and the right of return for refugees and their descendants, the immediate suspension of the EU-Israel Association Agreement, a total embargo on the arms trade to and from Israel, and the imposition of sanctions against those responsible for war crimes and violations of international law. Added to these are a ban on all trade or investment by banks and companies that fuel the occupation and illegal settlement, and public support for the release of all Palestinian political prisoners. 

The organisers have issued a call for the event to be conducted peacefully, and a zero-tolerance policy has been announced towards any form of anti-Semitism, Islamophobia or racism, with offenders facing exclusion from the gathering. 

The event comes just days after the decision by the foreign ministers of European Union countries to impose sanctions on violent settlers in the West Bank, and coincides with the Eurovision Song Contest in Vienna, from which five countries—Spain, Ireland, the Netherlands, Slovenia, and Iceland—have decided to withdraw in protest against Israel’s participation. The decision to withdraw has reduced the number of competing nations and sparked debate over the boundaries between culture and politics. RAI has stated that “as a member of the Big Five, it has always been among the countries that have believed in and invested in the Eurovision Song Contest, contributing significantly, including financially, to its development and international success.” The company adds that its commitment is growing to “strengthen Italy’s role in promoting music, culture, and entertainment at an international level,” but that “has repeatedly called for the Vienna Contest not to turn a blind eye to Gaza: perhaps by hosting a Palestinian artist in the television broadcasts outside the competition.”