Activists in Brussels challenge Syensqo’s general meeting on complicity in the genocide in Gaza

At Syensqo’s general meeting, Tuesday May 6 in Brussels, activists denounced the company's complicity in the genocide in Palestine through its involvement in the production of Hermes 450 drones. The action was met with an important police presence of thirty policemen.

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This morning, activists in Brussels challenged Belgian multinational Syensqo for its role in producing the Hermes 450 drone, used by the Israeli army to bomb a humanitarian convoy in 2024, killing seven aid workers. (1)

Erine, a spokesperson, said : "Syensqo produces an epoxy resin at its Wrexham site in the United Kingdom used in the production of the Hermes 450 drone by Israeli arms company Elbit Systems Ltd. These drones are equipped with rockets by the Israeli army and used against the Palestinian population."

To date, the company's only response claims the Hermes 450 drones are not armed, despite years of evidence to the contrary. Indeed, as early as 2014, these drones were identified in an attack on a Gaza beach, in which four Palestinian children were killed. (2)

With a large banner reading "Syensqo complicit in the genocide in Palestine", activists addressed the company's shareholders on their way to the annual general meeting. "The police was deployed quickly to prevent us from flyering: about thirty policemen including anti-riot police" said Erine.

Erine added, "Syensqo claiming they are not aware of the deadly use of these drones is either willful ignorance or deception. Shareholders have a moral and legal responsibility to cut all ties with the Israeli arms industry now. These decisions are made at shareholders meetings. Stop the complicity!"

When asked by Belgian journalists in February 2025 for guarantees their products were not used to bomb populations, company representatives failed to respond. (3)

(1) https://www.vrt.be/vrtnws/nl/2025/02/05/bedrijf-gaza-belgie-syensqo/
(2) https://theintercept.com/2018/08/11/israel-palestine-drone-strike-operation-protective-edge/
(3) https://www.vrt.be/vrtnws/nl/2025/02/05/bedrijf-gaza-belgie-syensqo/