Anti-Israel, pro-Palestinian activists carried out co-ordinated action against two Belgian companies —OIP in Tournai and Syensqo in Haren — accusing them of complicity in Israeli military operations in Gaza.
While the large-scale protests on June 23 were framed around Israel, the most serious and immediate impact was felt in Tournai, where equipment destined for Ukraine’s war effort was seriously damaged.
The first action began around 5am in Tournai, where about 100 masked activists entered the grounds of defence company OIP, a Belgian subsidiary of Israeli arms manufacturer Elbit Systems. According to CEO Freddy Versluys, the group vandalised office spaces and ICT infrastructure and damaged tanks intended for delivery to Ukraine.
“They entered our buildings with grinding wheels and hammers. This was a particularly well-prepared action,” Versluys told news agency Belga.
“From there, they destroyed and smashed our desks, including our computers. Then they moved on to the workshops where they also severely damaged some vehicles. They completely went loose there with spray cans and hammers.
“We now face a delay of at least a month in delivering crucial equipment to Ukraine,” Versluys said. He estimated the financial damage at nearly €1 million and confirmed that the company has filed a formal complaint.
“And most of the protestors were apparently women. I estimate about 80 per cent. We can clearly see that on the video footage by the way they behave and how they use a hammer. A man does not use a hammer in such a way,” Versluys claimed.
Although OIP was owned by Elbit Systems, the company’s primary operations in Belgium were currently focused on Ukraine.
OIP specialised in the maintenance, repair and modernisation of military vehicles. Since the Russian invasion, the company has supplied around 260 armoured vehicles to the Ukrainian army.
Nevertheless, protest organisers from the “Stop Arming Israel” campaign argued that any link to Elbit implicated OIP in supporting Israeli military capacity.
“Elbit is the industrial arm of the genocide in Gaza,” one activist claimed, adding that Belgian complicity must be challenged.
Versluys stressed that his company has not made defence systems for Israel in more than 20 years. He said his company did not even have an export licence to deliver gear to the country.
“In my eyes, the raid was just pure vandalism. It’s a gang of troublemakers who came to smash things up, nothing more. I really can’t call them peace activists,” he said.
“They are vandals who took the opportunity to indulge in pure vandalism. And abuse the Palestinian cause to do so,” he told Belgian tabloid Het Laatste Nieuws.
À 7h45 ce matin, plusieurs groupes de centaines d’activistes de Stop Arming Israel ont convergé sur des installations de Syensqo (entreprise belge, spin-off de Solvay) à Bruxelles afin de mettre complètement à l’arrêt les activités de l'entreprise. Les différents accès ont été… pic.twitter.com/YsLnarMvGF
— Cerveaux non disponibles (@CerveauxNon) June 23, 2025
Later that morning, around 7:45am, a second wave of protesters targeted Syensqo in Haren, a chemicals and materials company they accused of producing epoxy resin used in Israeli Hermes drones.
Demonstrators in white suits blocked all access points to the company, chained themselves to gates and objects and spray-painted slogans such as “Stop Genocide” and “Europe Complice” (Europe Accomplice) across the building’s facade. Palestinian flags were draped over fences and red paint was splashed on the walls apparently to symbolise blood.
In a press release, the activists said: “The Stop Arming Israel campaign aims to expose at least 10 companies involved in the Israeli arms sector in Belgium: OIP-Elbit, Safran, Thales, BMT Aerospace, Sabca, Caterpillar, Challenge Handling, Maersk, Scioteq, and Syensqo.
“The Israeli army benefits from total impunity not only for its actions in Palestine, but also for aggressions against Lebanon, Syrian [sic], Iran or Yemen.”
In a second press release, focusing on the action in Brussels, the activists complained about the treatment they got from the police.
“We were held in the sun for hours, without food, water, or access to toilets. More generally, we are seeing a significant increase in repression against the pro-Palestinian movement in Belgium.
“The government is putting its energy into suppressing solidarity movements instead of acting to stop a genocide that has already killed more than 60,000 people”, they said.
Police responded in force in both locations. In Haren, officers deployed riot police, helicopters, dogs and a water cannon. By midday, they had begun systematically removing and identifying protesters, although no arrests were confirmed at the time.
In Tournai, police surrounded activists who had entered through nearby woods.
Defence minister Theo Francken condemned the protest on social media, calling the activists an “extreme-left militia” and underscoring OIP’s key role in supplying Ukraine.
Een extreemlinkse militie valt momenteel het defensiebedrijf OIP in Doornik aan owv haar banden met Israël.
OIP helpt met allerhande militair materiaal Oekraïne in haar strijd tegen de Russische agressor.
Mocht dit een extreemrechtse militie zijn stond het land in rep en… pic.twitter.com/76HvHLouD9
— Theo Francken (@FranckenTheo) June 23, 2025
