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The war between Israel and Hamas poses a long-term threat to European security, which is likely to last beyond the ceasefire, Belgian Interior Minister Anneliese Verlinden has warned.
Several countries, including Belgium, have raised their security threat level following a terrorist attack by a lone perpetrator following a flare-up of conflict in the Middle East.
Analysts in Belgium have received information about activities stemming from the war in Gaza, prompting the government to send additional police to certain areas, including the Jewish quarter of Antwerp, the country’s second city.
In an interview with Politico, Verlinden said he has no idea when the threat level could be lowered again, the second-highest level since the Oct. 16 terrorist attack in Tunisia, where a gunman killed two people. He said it was difficult. Swedish soccer fans in Brussels. She said she expected the increased police presence “to continue for some time.”
“Whether or not the ceasefire lasts, you will find that the ceasefire continues,” Verlinden said of the situation in Gaza. “I’ve talked to people in the Jewish community and people in the Palestinian community. Those traumas and emotions are so deep that, of course, this can last for a long time.”
Verlinden added that there has been an increase in reports of anti-Semitic incidents in Belgium since the threat level was raised, which meant a call for greater vigilance.