Federal police officers withdrawn from Antwerp’s Jewish quarter
The 16 federal police officers responsible for protecting Antwerp’s Jewish quarter will no longer be deployed after 1 January, mayor Els van Doesburg said on Tuesday during the Play talk show De Tafel van Gert. Interior minister Bernard Quintin later confirmed the decision, while saying that the security of Jewish sites remains “an absolute priority”.
Van Doesburg brought attention to the topic during the show, particularly in light of Sunday's shooting at a Hanukkah celebration in Sydney in which 15 people were killed. Earlier this week, the Antwerp branch of Vlaams Belang called for increased security at Jewish institutions and schools during Monday evening’s city council meeting. Instead, the existing federal deployment will be withdrawn.
In a statement to Belga, Van Doesburg’s office said: “The minister of the Interior has decided that security by federal agents will be discontinued from January 1.”
Increased threat level
The Jewish community across Belgium has been under a heightened threat level since 2014. Since then, federal officers have been deployed alongside local police to protect Antwerp's Jewish quarter, with responsibilities split evenly between federal and local forces. The withdrawal therefore removes half of the current security presence.
Van Doesburg described the decision as incomprehensible and warned of the consequences. “There must be no vacuum in the safety of Antwerp’s Jewish quarter,” she said. She also appealed to the federal authorities: “This is something we have to do together. It goes beyond the Antwerp police.”
Quintin reportedly informed the Antwerp police force, which has around 2,500 officers, that “the deployment of the federal reserve should not be a structural measure for Antwerp”. According to the minister, “the decision taken simply means that 16 Brussels federal police officers, who were temporarily assigned as reinforcements, will be redeployed to their original station.”
Military support unresolved
Meanwhile, there is still no new legal framework for military security, such as the proposed territorial defence reserve. An agreement on this measure has already been reached between Quintin and Defence minister Theo Francken, but it has been rejected by a Flemish coalition partner.
Quintin said he supported deploying military personnel to sites linked to the Jewish community in Antwerp to support local police and free up capacity. “Security will continue unabated according to the same standards as today, under the direction of the local Antwerp police, for whom this is a core task and responsibility,” he said.
#FlandersNewsService | © PHOTO HOLLANDSE HOOGTE
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