An Islamist group that had claimed responsibility for previous attacks on Jews in Europe was said to also be behind the one in Flanders
Belgian police on Tuesday morning arrested two minors in connection with the suspected torching of a car in Antwerp’s so-called Jewish Quarter, local media reported.
No one was injured in the incident, which followed at least five suspected terrorist attacks in Europe for which a hitherto unknown Islamist person or group called Harakat Ashab al-Yamin al-Islamiya (HAYI) has claimed responsibility. Jews were targeted in at least four of those attacks.
Bruno Struys, a journalist for the De Morgen daily, presented on Tuesday a video he found on social media showing two people walking and running away from a burning car moments after one of them doused it with liquid. The video featured a statement saying Antwerp was targeted because it “has a large Zionist community.” The torching was as “revenge for the blood of Palestinians,” the text read, adding that “operations will continue and intensify until the liberation of our occupied lands on beloved Palestine.”