Mayor of Brussels municipality Evere raises Palestinian flag and calls on others to do the same in solidarity

(Patria) - The mayor of the municipality of Evere in Brussels, the capital of Belgium, Ridouane Chahid, raised the Palestinian flag on the official flagpole in front of the municipal building with the aim of showing solidarity and sending a message of support to the Palestinian people amid the bloody Israeli attacks on the Gaza Strip.

The Palestinian flag has been flying for the third day on the flagpole in front of the municipal building in Brussels' Evere, right next to the flags of Belgium and the European Union, and Mayor Chahid told Anadolu that this move has garnered him much support, but also criticism.

He recalled that unknown persons removed the Palestinian flag from the flagpole, but that it was put back up, and Chahid expressed hope that his gesture of solidarity with the Palestinians would be followed by other local governments in Belgium.

- The purpose of raising this flag is to show solidarity with the Palestinian people, who have been victims of unprecedented massacres for months - said Chahid.

He called for a ceasefire in Gaza and expressed hope that the Palestinian and Israeli people would live in peace.
Regarding the criticism he received over the flag, Chahid said he focuses more on the support and expects to see the Palestinian flag in front of other municipalities as well.

He called for an end to double standards and added that people who are bothered by the Palestinian flag did not react to the raising of Israeli and Ukrainian flags in front of other municipalities.

At the invitation of the Belgian-Palestinian Association, in addition to the municipality of Evere in Brussels, the Palestinian flag was also raised in the municipality of Verviers in Liege.