Brussels: pedestrian crossings repainted in the colors of Palestine
A group of activists painted pedestrian crossings in Brussels in the colors of Palestine overnight from Sunday to Monday to protest against an Israeli directive limiting the wearing of the Palestinian flag in public space, they said in a press release.
Israel's Minister of National Security, Itamar Ben Gvir, a far-right figure known for his anti-Palestinian diatribes, asked the police commander on January 9 to authorize any police officer to remove from public space any flag Palestinians, such as during demonstrations.
“I have instructed the police to enforce the ban on brandishing in public space a PLO flag Palestine Liberation Organization, Ed., sign of identification with a terrorist organization,” wrote Mr. Ben Gvir on Twitter.
In response to the ban, a global day of action to display the Palestinian flag as widely as possible took place on Sunday. In Brussels, activists have chosen to paint pedestrian crossings in black, white, green and red near four symbolic places: the headquarters of the European Commission, the Israeli embassy in Belgium, the headquarters of Thales and that of 'AXA.
"Through these new actions, we hope more broadly to challenge citizens, civil society and the Belgian and European political world on the importance of denouncing the crimes of the Israeli apartheid colonial regime and the oppression and persecution of which the Palestinians,” the group of activists explained.
