Belgian City of Verviers Breaks Relations with Israel’s Apartheid Regim

Brussels, MINA – The city of Verviers in Belgium has become the latest city in Europe to break “its ties with the Israeli apartheid regime” to “strengthen its support for the Palestinian people,” WAFA reported on Wednesday.

During its meeting, Verviers City Council discussed a motion submitted by members of the Socialist Party (PS), Labor Party (PTB), and Ecological Confederation (ECOLO) which said that the City of Verviers wanted to strengthen its support for the Palestinian people by severing its ties with the Israeli apartheid regime.

The draft proposal put forward stated that Verviers city council pledged not to open relations with the State of Israel and its institutions as long as the apartheid system persists and violations of international law by the Israeli authorities.

Verviers follows the Belgian city of Liége, whose city council voted last month to end ties with Israel citing its “apartheid, occupation and military occupation” regime.

Also last April, Oslo (Norway) decided to exclude companies that directly or indirectly contribute to illegal Israeli settlement companies, and in February 2023, the Mayor of Barcelona (Catalonia, state of Spain) decided to suspend institutional ties with apartheid Israel.

Elsewhere, the mayor of Belém (Brazil) recently declared the city an Apartheid Free Zone.

The National Committee for Divestment and Sanctions for Palestinian Boycott (BDS) (BNC), the largest coalition in Palestinian society, saluted Verviers’ decision and praised what he described as the “tireless work of Belgian civil society in making this happen.”

The BNC called for statements in cities around the world “to follow the inspired example of Verviers, Liége, Oslo, Barcelona and Bélem by breaking with Israeli apartheid to support the Palestinian cause to dismantle apartheid.”(T/RE1)

Mi’raj News Agency (MINA)