A pro-Palestine protestor appeared in court on Wednesday for having set fire to two military vehicles in protest in the summer of 2022.
The incident occurred at the OIP Sensor Systems industrial site in Oudenaarde, a subsidiary of the Israeli multinational Elbit. The man, Kevin G., faces up to four years in prison.
On 28 August 2022, Kevin G. entered the industrial site and attempted to throw a Molotov cocktail into a factory building. When this failed, he set fire to armoured vehicles belonging to the Belgian Army that were awaiting modernisation on the premises.
Two of these military tanks were destroyed. Graffiti messages "One State Palestina" and "Shut Elbit Down" were left at the scene, with suspect soon identified as the perpetrator.
On Wednesday, he stood before the Dendermonde court. The federal prosecutor requested a four-year prison sentence with probation terms. He stated that the action was well-prepared. “There’s nothing wrong with radical thoughts in themselves, but it’s problematic when they lead to violent actions,” he said.
G., represented by lawyer Thomas Gillis, argued during the trial that the attack was impulsive after listening to a podcast about Palestine. "I felt like no one cared about the situation there, and that upset me," he said. The judge noted that he had brought a full jerrycan, wire cutters, and cans of red paint with him.
The damage caused by the attack amounts to €2.4 million. A civil trial regarding this matter is set to begin next week. A verdict in the criminal case is expected on 23 October.
