Brussels (Quds News Network)- The Brussels-Capital Region Parliament has become the first in Belgium and Europe to pass a resolution calling for sanctions on Israel over its genocide in Gaza and the illegal occupation of Palestine.
The resolution reads, “Following the resolution adopted by the United Nations General Assembly on September 18, 2024, demanding Israel end its illicit presence in the occupied Palestinian territories within 12 months, the proposed resolution asks the Brussels government to no longer grant arms licenses to Israel, to no longer subsidize companies linked to the Israeli army and to cease all collaboration with companies appearing on the UN database.”
The resolution was put forward by the Norkers’ Party (PTB/PVDA), supported by the Green party (Ecolo) and Socialist Party (PS) and passed with 44 votes in favour, according to the Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions (BDS) movement.
The Palestinian BDS National Committee, the largest coalition of Palestinian civil society leading the global BDS movement, saluted the political allies and activists and organizations in Belgium, who supported and advocated for the adoption of this milestone resolution on Palestine.
“We call on people across the world to escalate pressure on their governments to end all forms of direct or indirect complicity with genocidal Israel and to demand concrete and targeted sanctions and accountability measures at national and regional level and in international courts and international fora.”
In September 2024, the UNGA overwhelmingly adopted a resolution calling on Israel to end its illegal occupation of the Palestinian territories within a year. The UNGA demanded that “Israel brings to an end without delay its unlawful presence in the Occupied Palestinian Territory, which constitutes a wrongful act of a continuing character entailing its international responsibility, and do so no later than 12 months”.
It also called on Israel to make reparations to Palestinians for damages incurred by the occupation.
The resolution backed an advisory opinionby the International Court of Justice (ICJ) – the UN’s top court – which found that Israel’s presence in the Palestinian territories is unlawful and must end.
The court ruled in July that Israel is abusing its status as an occupying power, stressing that Israeli settlements in the West Bank and East Jerusalem are illegal.
The UNGA vote came amid Israel’s devastating war on Gaza, which has killed more than 48,000 Palestinians. The ICJ issued rulings ordering Israel to take steps to prevent genocide in Gaza and allow adequate humanitarian aid into the territory.
