Authorities said military forces have been deployed to major Belgian cities to strengthen security for Jewish communities after a series of anti-Semitic attacks in Belgium and the Netherlands.
According to the Times Of Israel newspaper, soldiers have been deployed to the streets of major Belgian cities to beef up security for Jewish communities following what officials are calling anti-Semitic attacks in both Belgium and the Netherlands.
The decision comes after an explosion at a synagogue in Liege this month, which authorities have called an anti-Semitic act.
"From today, we are returning soldiers to the streets of Brussels and Antwerp, because security is a fundamental right," Belgian Defense Minister Theo Francken said in a post on the X platform.
The deployment of military forces is being done in cooperation with the federal police and includes guarding Jewish sites, such as synagogues and schools, Belgian authorities said last week.
Antwerp "is a little safer again... and the Jewish community too. We say NO to anti-Semitism!" Francken said.
The increased security measures also come after an arson attack on a synagogue in Rotterdam, as well as an explosion at a Jewish school in Amsterdam, in the neighboring Netherlands.
Dutch police have arrested five suspects, aged 17 to 19, in connection with the attack on a synagogue in Rotterdam.
A spokesman for the Belgian Ministry of Defense said the soldiers would be deployed in three different phases: first in Brussels and Antwerp, and then in Liege.
Human rights groups have expressed concerns about possible attacks on Jewish communities around the world following the start of the United States and Israel's war with Iran. On Monday, four ambulances belonging to a Jewish community organization in north London were set on fire.
