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| One of the luxury housing in Israel. Settlement was funded by the Belgian company. (Reuters) |
In 2001 Dexia Group, which bought the Israeli bank Otzar Hashilton Hamekomi and renamed Dexia Public Finance Israel. Just like other subsidiary Dexia, Dexia Israel special finance municipalities and other local authorities.
It might take until October 2009 for several solidarity groups Belgian Dexia Israel to discover that not only Israel ordinary city finance but also provide loans to illegal settlements in the Palestinian territories. In the documents of the Knesset (Israel's parliament), the director of Dexia Israel, David Kapah, confirmed that the bank does have to give credit to the seven settlements in the three areas occupied West Bank between 2005 and 2008.
Clear evidence was followed by a campaign that is quickly growing in Belgium. Uniting under the slogan 'Israel invaded, Dexia finance', the campaign to get his first success. In the following months launched petitions, lawmakers held accountable and local actions begin to be implemented. support from local Belgian authorities, such as city and province, are so important because they hold a number of shares of Dexia Group.
Today's action platform consists of 61 organizations Belgium, gathered more than 4,000 signatures and got 29 local authorities to sign a resolution. They all asked Dexia break with settlements and stop funding their work immediately.
For several months the government of Belgium and Dexia management never really answer the needs of those actions. But once the campaign began to get more media coverage and the pressure begins to rise, something changed. On October 20, the activists were able to voice the demands of the campaign at the annual meeting of shareholders of Dexia Group in Brussels.
In response, Jean-Luc Dehaene, Dexia's board chairman and former Belgian prime minister, acknowledged that the bank had extended loans to Israeli colonies. He stressed that, since September 2009, there is no additional funding for this or any other colony.
Dehaene declared new loans will not be given to the settlement. He added that credit be given prior to the settlement will not soon be discontinued, they will not be replaced by a similar loan.
Dehaene: "In the past, Dexia Israel to lend 5 million euros to the settlement, it is only 1% of the total budget of Dexia Israel. Loans to the city of Jerusalem was not included in this number, because the Dexia Group feels that Jerusalem is not contested territory."
However, East Jerusalem belongs to the Palestinians. Israel unilaterally seized East Jerusalem in June 1967, and to extend the laws, jurisdiction and administration of Israel to the part of the city. In response, the Security Council adopted resolution 252 that "(UN Security Council) considers that all legislative acts by Israel, including expropriation of land and properties, which tend to change the legal status of Jerusalem are invalid and can not change the status."
In 1980 Israel declared Jerusalem the capital of Israel, including East Jerusalem. In the same year the UN Security Council adopted resolution 476 the Security Council "Reconfirms that all legislative and administrative measures and actions taken by Israel, the occupying Power, which purport to alter the character and status of Jerusalem is invalid and a violation of the law against Geneva Convention relative to the Protection of Civilian Persons in Time of War and also constitute a serious obstruction to achieving a comprehensive peace, and justice in the Middle East ".
Dexia's financial support to the city of Jerusalem can be considered as a support to the occupation of East Jerusalem.
Dehaene also stated that the activities of Dexia Israel is not the core-business of Dexia Group again, and added: "Do not be surprised that at one point, Dexia Dexia Group will sell Israel".
Promotion has been successful, but this is not the end.
According to Mario Franssen, a spokesman of the platform action, the campaign will continue until Dexia has officially announced and provide proof of dismissal of the total funding of the settlement, including the disputed loans to Jerusalem. Franssen explained that the action has not satisfied the action platform, but this concession from Dexia is a good start. "We are demanding a halt to all relationships between Dexia and the colony complete makeover and soon. Dexia guilty of financing the occupation, and this has come to an end," he added.
Source: Reuters
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