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© MarketScreenerThe decision follows the ICJ order to prevent acts of genocide against Palestinians
The local government of the Walloon region in Belgium has temporarily suspended two ammunition export licenses to Israel, local media outlet De Morgen reported on 6 February.

The news comes after several rights groups, including Amnesty International, called on the Walloon region's prime minister, Elio Di Rupo, to cancel the weapons sales.

The munitions were sent to Israel via the port of Antwerp in November 2023, De Morgen reported.

"According to official documents, the equipment is not intended for the Israeli armed forces but to be re-exported to the European Union or the United States, according to the licenses granted to the company PB Clermont," said Christophe Collignon, a minister in the Walloon parliament.

Di Rupo's decision was reportedly influenced by the recent ruling of the International Court of Justice (ICJ) against Israel.

"The January 26 order of the International Court of Justice, the main judicial organ of the United Nations, as well as the unacceptable deterioration of the humanitarian situation in the Gaza Strip, led the Minister-President to suspend the valid licenses temporarily," Collignon added.

The suspension comes just days after Belgium summoned the Israeli ambassador to protest Tel Aviv's bombing of a Belgian development agency building in Gaza City last week.

Brussels has criticized Israel's handling of the war in Gaza and has pushed the EU to call for a ceasefire.

Following Washington's suspension of funding for the UN Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA), Belgium said it would continue to support the organization.

"Belgium will continue to help Palestinian civilians and ensure that humanitarian aid gets to them," Belgian Foreign Minister Hadja Lahbib said this month.

The Walloon government's decision comes after Japanese investment firm Itochu Corporation's aviation unit said on Monday that it will end its cooperation with Israeli weapons maker Elbit Systems by the end of February.

The ICJ ruling also influenced Itochu's decision.