Belgium deployed military personnel Monday to protect Jewish sites across the country, following a pre-dawn explosion at a synagogue in Liège, Belgium last week.
Officials announced that the Ministry of Defence, working in coordination with the federal police, will oversee security at synagogues, Jewish schools, and other locations linked to the Jewish community, as reported by the Belga News Agency. The ministers cited Article 111 of the Integrated Police Act, which allows the commissioner general of the federal police to request military support for police operations.
Interior Minister Bernard Quintin and Defence Minister Theo Francken said the deployment would happen immediately with operational management led by the police in close cooperation with the military.
“To protect our Jewish community, we are deploying military personnel to support security on our streets. The safety of every citizen must be guaranteed,” Francken wrote. “Antisemitism and hatred against Jews will never be tolerated. We will stand firm against it, always.”
The blast in Liège occurred around 4 a.m. on March 9, shattering windows on nearby buildings but causing no injuries, police reported. Prime Minister Bart De Wever called the act “an attack on our values and our society” and pledged to fight antisemitism across Belgium, according to Le Monde.
Quintin called the attack despicable and said authorities would expand security measures around similar sites. Willy Demeyer, mayor of Liège, condemned the explosion as an antisemitic act and warned against importing foreign conflicts into the city, Le Monde reported.
Georges-Louis Bouchez, leader of the liberal, center-right Mouvement Réformateur party, and Antwerp Mayor Els Van Doesburg publicly called for armed security following the Liège blast, while the Coordinating Committee of Jewish Organisations in Belgium also urged a visible military presence on the streets, the Belga News Agency reported.
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