RELIGIOUS LEADERS PLEAD FOR TOLERANCE IN BELGIUM AMID ISRAEL-GAZA WAR

“We are now very close to opening this corridor, hopefully this Saturday-Sunday and I’m very glad to see an initial pilot will be launched today,” said European Commission Ursula von der Leyen a visit to Cyprus where she met Cypriot President Nikos Christodoulides.

Israel on Friday welcomed the inauguration of a maritime corridor from Cyprus to the Gaza Strip.

‘’The Cypriot initiative will allow the increase of humanitarian aid to the Gaza Strip, after security checks are carried out in accordance with Israeli standards,’’ a satement from the Israeli foreign mionistry said.

‘’Israel will continue to facilitate the transfer of humanitarian aid to the residents of the Gaza Strip in accordance with the rules of war and in coordination with the United States and our allies around the world.’’

The statement added that Israel ‘’will continue the fight against Hamas — an organization that calls for the destruction of the State of Israel and carried out the 7 October massacre — until its elimination and the return of all the hostages.’’

‘’It is very important that additional countries join the Cypriot initiative and the international effort to transfer aid,’’ the foreign ministry said.

On the same day, the European Commission, Germany, Greece, Italy, the Netherlands, the Republic of Cyprus, the United Arab Emirates, the United Kingdom, and the United States announce their intent to open a maritime corridor ‘’to deliver much-needed additional amounts of humanitarian assistance by sea.’’

‘’The humanitarian situation in Gaza is dire, with innocent Palestinian families and children desperate for basic necessities,’’ they said in a joint statement.

“We are launching this Cyprus maritime corridor together, the European Union, the United Arab Emirates, and the United States,” Von der Leyen said after a visit to facilities in Cyprus.

“We are now very close to opening this corridor, hopefully this Saturday-Sunday and I’m very glad to see an initial pilot will be launched today,” said European Commission Ursula von der Leyen a visit to Cyprus where she met Cypriot President Nikos Christodoulides.

“The maritime corridor can make a real difference to the plight of the Palestinian people, but in parallel, our efforts to provide humanitarian assistance through all possible routes will continue,” she said in a joint press conference in Larnaca.

The sea corridor is due to formally open this weekend, with a first pilot operation to leave either on Satrday or Sunday, when the right conditions are in place.

It comes just hours after US. President Biden announced in his annual State of the Union speech that the US will set up a port on the Gaza coast to ramp up the delivery of lifesaving aid.

About twenty demonstrators protested Thursday in front of the rector’s office at  Leuven University      (KUL) in Belgium on Thursday to demand that the university immediately end its collaboration with Israeli institutions. But the university said it has decided to maintain current collaboration with its Israeli partners, daily La Libre reported. 

Participants at the protest action waved Palestinian flags and wore black and white scarves. They chanted slogans such as “Shame on KUL, break up with Israel”, “Free Palestine” and “Stop the genocide”.

Several actions have already taken place in recent months to denounce the links between Israeli universities and KU Leuven. “We have the impression that the University of Leuven will not put an end to these collaborations,” a protester was quoted as saying.  “That’s why we’re keeping up the pressure: links with institutions linked to the arms industry and the Israeli security apparatus are extremely problematic,” he added.

The rector of KU Leuven, Luc Sels, will receive some of the protesters to discuss the issue next Tuesday but the university said that it has decided to maintain its current research projects with various Israeli universities, following a decision taken on by the relevant ethics committee.

The university has “thoroughly evaluated” the current collaborations, particularly on the basis of human rights. “The general position is one of restraint”, the Rector wrote on his blog.

The leuven university has no structural links with Israeli universities, but does have project-based collaborations. These involve some fifteen projects, mostly in larger consortia funded by the European Horizon research program.

“The content of each project was thoroughly examined: it was checked whether there was any risk of the content being misused or used for military purposes,” Luc Sels said.

“The projects were also assessed to determine whether they presented a risk of human rights violations and whether the partners were not involved in human rights violations,’’ he added.

He continued: ‘’On the basis of this screening, it was decided to continue with the current projects. “We are opting for a balanced, fine-tuned approach. New collaborations with Israeli partners must first be submitted to the ethics committee for assessment. The committee not only applies human rights criteria but will also assess with the necessary rigor whether the research has possible military applications.’’

At another Belgian university in Ghent, an association titled ‘’Students4Palestine’’ also called on the Board of Governors and Rector to cut all collaborations with Israeli institutions which they accused of being ”complicit in the ongoing ethnic cleansing of Palestinians.’’ They are threatening to occupy the University if their demand is not met.

Last November, Ghent University issued a clear statement saying that it always decides to cooperate with partners, universities or companies and not with countries as such.’’ ‘’Within the framework of our human rights policy, it is therefore actual our potential partners we assess and not the country in which they are located,’’ the statement said.

Belgian university maintains collaboration with Israeli institutions despite protests demanding to cut ties