Political parties in the Belgian city of Willebroek decided to exclude Karim Hassoun, co-founder of the Hind Rajb Foundation, an organization which seeks to prosecute Israeli soldiers around the world and was behind the recent issuing of an arrest warrant against an Israeli tourist visiting Brazil.
Hassoun launched the organisation in September 2024, just one month before the local elections in Belgium.
After months of negotiations following municipal elections in October 2024, the leaders of Willebroek’s two largest parties finally reached an agreement to form a governing coalition this week.
Willebroek is a city in the province of Antwerp.
The parties decided to exclude Hassoun’s after his own party expelled the extremist following calls by the Belgian Jewish community to do so.
‘’Hassoun is a radical extremist who supports Hamas and Hezbollah and imports anti-Semitism onto the streets of Europe,” said Belgian MP Michael Freilich.
When asked if Hassoun would condemn Hamas after the October 7th attacks, Hassoun wrote on social media, “I condemn Hamas for not taking 500 or 1000 hostages, instead of just 200.”
In 2016, Hassoun honored a slain Hezbollah terrorist in front of Kazerne Dossin in Mechelen, the place from where Jews in Belgium were sent to the Auschwitz death camp.
Regina Suchowolsky, head of the Belgian Forum of Jewish Organisations and member of the European Jewish Association, had urged local politicians not to include an extremist figure like Hassoun. Jewish magazine Joods Actueel also published photographs of Hassoun proudly wearing a Hezbollah cap and revealed images of him honouring a Hezbollah terrorist in front of the Belgian Holocaust Museum.
Willebroek Mayor Eddy Bevers, of the N-VA (New Fmeish Alliance) had consistently stated that he would not govern alongside extremists.