On Monday, the mayor of Saint-Gilles, where the performance took place, strongly denounced the images from the performance and evoked a possible apology of terrorism.
A pro-Palestinian public performance in Brussels over the weekend drew outrage after images circulating on social media showed a group of men supporting Hamas, glorifying the intifada and reenacting the October 7 massacre.
The performance, organized by Samidoun, the ”Palestinian Prisoner Solidarity Network” together with coalition of other groups, took place in the municipality of Saint-Gilles during the ‘’Festival of Resistance.” A reenactment of October 7, performed in the middle of the European capital, and met with applause and under the slogan ‘’from the river to the sea” that denies the existence of Israel.
On Monday, the mayor of Saint-Gilles, Jean Spinette, strongly denounced the images from the performance and evoked a possible apology of terrorism.
“I share the outrage at the discovery of these images,” he said. He recalled that he had sought the opinion of the police before authorizing the event, as he does for every public demonstration. “The information in our possession did not allow for a priori prohibition without jeopardizing freedom of expression.”
However, he claims to have warned the organizer against any excesses that could undermine social cohesion in the municipality.
In the letter of agreement sent to the organizers, the municipality had set several conditions: no explicit or implicit reference to Hamas or Hezbollah; no incitement to hatred or violence; and strict respect for social cohesion. “Looking at these images, I can see that this is not the case,” said Jean Spinette, who referred to calls for violence and a possible glorification of terrorism.
The mayor said he was analyzing the measures to be taken, particularly with the police. “I will not leave it at that,” he stressed, announcing that he was considering referring the matter to the public prosecutor’s office.
The festival organizers rejected the criticism. “It was neither a call for hatred nor a reference to an armed organization. ‘’It was intended to denounce Israeli impunity for the violence committed in the Palestinian territories.”
Georges-Louis Bouchez, president of the French-speaking liberal party MR, accused the mayor of Saint-Gillois of duplicity in his handling of the case. “Jean Spinette, who was perfectly aware of this event and of the radicals who made it up, was informed of it in an e-mail, a copy of which I have,” he wrote on X.
According to him, the Socialist mayor “preferred not to act so as not to upset his left-wing friends”.
Bouchez called for ‘’the banning of associations that stir up hatred” and believes that the Socialist Party “should urgently rediscover its moral compass”.