Protesters call on Brussels university to cut partnership with Israeli defense-linked firm

BRUSSELS

Pro-Palestine activists protested on Wednesday at the Free University of Brussels' (VUB) Etterbeek campus, demanding that the university administration end its collaboration with an Israeli defense-linked company.

Demonstrators hung a large banner reading "VUB helps kill Palestinians" and placed portraits of Palestinian figures across the campus, accusing the university of complicity through its research partnerships, Flemish-language daily Het Nieuwsblad reported.

The protest condemned VUB's collaboration with OIP Sensor Systems, which is owned by Elbit Systems, Israel's largest private arms manufacturer.

Protesters demand that the partnership, which is being conducted through the university's research center, be terminated immediately.

They claimed that technologies developed in such collaborations could have dual-use applications, including military surveillance and drone systems.

"While Palestinians are being killed using drones and precision equipment developed by OIP-Elbit, VUB continues to allow the company to benefit from research partnerships, including projects related to space missions," one of the protestors, Julie Janssens, said.

Another protester, Jana De Blok, warned that space-related research often has inherent dual-use potential.

"This research will therefore likely contribute to the development of more surveillance technology and warfare in Palestine, Iran, and Lebanon, and in our own streets," she added.

Since the start of the Gaza war, attacks by the Israeli army and illegal settlers in the West Bank have killed 1,133 Palestinians and injured about 11,700 others, in addition to the arrest of around 22,000 people, according to official Palestinian figures.

BRUSSELS

The protest condemned VUB's collaboration with OIP Sensor Systems, which is owned by Elbit Systems, Israel's largest private arms manufacturer.

Protesters demand that the partnership, which is being conducted through the university's research center, be terminated immediately.

They claimed that technologies developed in such collaborations could have dual-use applications, including military surveillance and drone systems.

Another protester, Jana De Blok, warned that space-related research often has inherent dual-use potential.

"This research will therefore likely contribute to the development of more surveillance technology and warfare in Palestine, Iran, and Lebanon, and in our own streets," she added.