Israeli Defense Firm's Belgian Facility Set Ablaze in Coordinated Arson Attack

A facility belonging to BATS, a defense electronics company fully owned by Israel's Israel Aerospace Industries (IAI), was deliberately set on fire at three separate locations in Liege, Belgium. The blaze erupted early Monday morning around 3:40 AM. Firefighters successfully extinguished the flames, and fortunately, there were no injuries, though the factory sustained damage. Local prosecutors confirmed the incident was intentional arson, noting the fires were started simultaneously across the site.

Shortly after, an anonymous group calling itself "Black Fire" claimed responsibility for the attack in an online statement. The group stated that BATS' full ownership by IAI was sufficient justification for the arson, citing ideological opposition. Belgian Defense Minister Theo Francken, a conservative, reacted angrily, pointing fingers at the far-left and the Belgian Workers' Party (PTB). Francken accused the party of being a political front for extremist violence and recalled a previous arson attempt against OIP, another company linked to IAI.

However, PTB leader Raoul Hedebouw vehemently denied the accusations, stating they were baseless and unrelated to his party. The Liege prosecutor's office emphasized that it is too early to identify the perpetrators or their motives, and a comprehensive judicial investigation involving fire experts is underway. BATS, established in 1984, supplies surveillance radars to the Belgian army and is an approved supplier for NATO and the European Commission.

This attack follows a growing trend of violent incidents targeting technology and defense companies connected to Israel in the Liege region, including an assault on an AMOS space company facility in March 2026.