Activists claim that the petition to terminate the twinning between the Israeli town of Megiddo with the Brussels municipality of Ixelles has garnered thousands of signatures, and that the campaign will go on.
Belgian pro-Palestinian groups are trying to have the Brussels municipalities of Ixelles and Antwerp removed from their designation as “twin cities” with the Israeli town of Megiddo.All rights reserved.
The initiative’s founder, Belgian citizen Malika Hamri, told Anadolu that since June, protests have been taking place in front of the Ixelles municipal office, calling for the cancellation of the twin city agreement between the municipality and Megiddo, which was formed in 2012.
Moroccan-born Hamri stated that they have been planning numerous events to support Palestinians ever since the Israel-Hamas war broke out on October 7 of last year.
During this period, they became interested in the sister city agreement between Megiddo, the location of a prison infamous for the torture and abuse of Palestinians, and Ixelles, one of Brussels’ most well-liked towns, famed for its colleges, cultural centers, and stylish stores.
She added that more than 1,300 signatures were gathered for the “Ending of the twinning between Megiddo in Israel and the municipality of Ixelles” campaign, which was started on Change.org.
According to Hamri, the municipality of Ixelles chose to sever ties with Megiddo during the early days of their demonstration in front of the municipal building.
She added that they wanted a full boycott and that this was insufficient for them, so they carried on with their protest.
According to Hamri, the police attempted to disperse the group’s demonstration in front of the municipality last week, but they persisted in their planned silent protest—which they conducted without the use of music or microphones—and students protesting at Brussels’ universities also backed the proposal.
“September 26th is a significant day. In addition to planning our fourteenth demonstration, this day will also be used for consultations. In order for the public to fully understand the positions of all political parties, we did ask that this matter be put on the council’s agenda, and they complied. We want to know which party will be in favor of maintaining the status quo and which would be against it.
bringing Megiddo’s prison to light
Prior to the Belgian local elections on October 13, Hamri emphasized that they would like to see the municipality of Ixelles take a firm stand that it will not revert.
Currently incarcerated at Megiddo are about 1,000 Palestinians, many of them minors. These days, about 100 youngsters are imprisoned and subjected to torture; Israeli NGOs like B’Tselem have even verified this. They recently released a report detailing several human rights breaches. Everything about this is fully documented.
According to Hamri, they will submit the identical request to the municipality of Antwerp, which is an Israeli twin city of Haifa, after Ixelles.
