Activists with the climate collective Code Rood (Code Red) and others have targeted a steel factory in the Belgian city of Charleroi because it delivered steel to Israel.
About four hundred activists from Code Red, Stop Arming Israel Belgium and Soulèvements de la Terre (Earth Uprisings) blocked the entrance to Industeel Belgium near Charleroi for several hours on the morning of October 11.
According to the activists, the company was complicit in “the genocide in Gaza”, although a ceasefire between Israel and Hamas was agreed on days earlier.
Code Red claimed Industeel sent 50 tons of steel to the Israeli Ministry of Defence in April.
The activists destroyed security camera’s, electrical cabinets and several cars belonging to employees. They also smashed windows, spray painted graffiti on the walls of the buildings, destroyed road signs, damaged the fences and put up barricades of concrete blocks across the site of Industeel, a subsidiary of Arcelor Mittal.
A large number descended on nearby rail lines, causing train operations in the region to be severely disrupted.
Thomas Baeken, spokesperson for the railway infrastructure company called that “incomprehensible and unacceptable”.
According to Baeken, activists threw concrete covers from cable ducts onto the tracks and the power had to be cut from the overhead lines for safety reasons.
“The protesters not only endangered their own lives but also those of passengers,” Baeken said. “We will certainly not leave it at this and will definitely file a complaint.”
According to the organisers, a total of 150 activists were arrested by the police across the country, but none in Charleroi, while local police had been informed in advance.
Ahead of the protest, police in Antwerp preemptively arrested 30 people who were allegedly planning to join the group in Charleroi. They were later released.
An activist legitimised the protesters’ actions, saying: “It is unacceptable that Belgian companies are supplying strategic materials to the Israeli army in the midst of a genocide.
“A military embargo is not enough: If politicians refuse to act, we, the citizens, will impose an economic embargo on a genocidal state that has spiralled out of control.”
The activists claimed that company employees supported their actions, though one HR manager said the events had a significant “psychological impact” on those working there.
According to Code Red, the arrest of 150 of their activists constituted “repression” and was “a clear illustration of the complicity of the Belgian Government”.
“Amidst the genocide, the government is suppressing solidarity movements and preparing an anti-democratic law to further muzzle civil society,” it claimed, referring to a proposal to ban Antifa, a left-wing organisation accused of using violence against people it disapproves of.
A tribute in remembrance of Jean Gol, a Jewish Liberal statesman in Belgium, was targeted amid a violent protest by pro-Palestinian activists yesterday. His grave was also desecrated. https://t.co/VfG6uTTXHp
— Brussels Signal (@brusselssignal) September 19, 2025
Code Red, together with Earth Uprisings in France, Disrupt Germany and GeefTegengas in the Netherlands, say they want to disrupt supply chains to Israel.
Their self-stated goal is to enforce a complete embargo between their countries and Israel, to “stop the genocide in Gaza”.
In a press release, Code Red said: “The announced ceasefire in Gaza is a relief for the Palestinian population, which has suffered two years of extreme violence and almost daily massacres.
“However, it does not in any way signify the end of colonisation or of the Israeli policy that constantly violates international law in Gaza and the West Bank.
“Given this situation, the sanctions imposed by Belgium and the European Union remain largely symbolic, while the EU is still Israel’s main trading partner – trade in which Belgium actively participates.”
Liberal Party President Louis Bouchez was not impressed. “These activists from Code Rood are simply left-wing extremists who want public chaos and the downfall of the liberal and capitalist system,” he said. “Our system, however, has brought the highest level of development in history.”
According to Bouchez, “Palestine is merely a pretext for them — just like climate was or is, depending on the moment.
“These people care nothing for the official cause. They only want total chaos. And the political class and the press give them visibility, credibility and legitimacy.
“These people deserve nothing but criminal prosecution for the attacks, vandalism and acts of violence they regularly commit.”
The leader of the Socialist union, the ABVV, also condemned the protest.
“I am not going to justify this. I detest violence and destruction. It does not serve anyone’s interests. It has no place in a democracy. Not least because it is a way for some people to discredit the widespread social protest movement”, said Bert Engelaar, president of the union.
In July the Co-ordination Unit for Threat Analysis (OCAD) warned that climate activists have become radicalised and were more open to the use of violence.
Law-makers in Hungary and the Netherlands have signalled intentions to restrict or outlaw Antifa, a loose network of left-wing activists involved in violent protests.https://t.co/sur1EMRikH
— Brussels Signal (@brusselssignal) September 19, 2025
