2023-10-17 19:47:00
Last week, several people had been surprised to see that pro-Palestine demonstrations were taking place in Brussels. On the French side, the French Minister of the Interior had banned pro-Palestinian demonstrations because they were “likely to generate disturbances to public order”.
The journalist therefore attacks Philippe Close on this subject: “This decision was not taken in Brussels”, he begins. “You notably authorized a demonstration organized on October 11 at the call of the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine (PFLP), a terrorist organization designated as such by the European Union.”
On this subject, the mayor responds tit for tat and invalidates the information. “It is distributed by the Israeli embassy, but it is not correct. It was authorized by the Belgian-Palestinian association […] This is not a terrorist organization that has received authorization.”
Israel-Palestine: war crimes or terrorist acts, is there a difference?
Philippe Close then responds by explaining that authorizing a demonstration is not a political choice for him. “Brussels is the capital of Europe, the diplomatic capital of the world. I authorized 1,079 demonstrations last year,” relates the mayor of Brussels. “In France, demonstrations are banned, but they still take place. Here, we opted for another management. We consider that it is better to supervise,” he tells the journalist. The latter does not relent and questions him: “It does not bother you that after an attack like the one committed on Israeli soil, people shout in your city “Death to Israel?”
The mayor of Brussels does not give up: “I am not asked to be embarrassed or not, I am asked to manage a city. Our approach to demonstrations is the negotiated management of public space. There will still be pro-Palestinian and pro-Israeli demonstrations in the capital. “There is no value judgment here,” he concludes.
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