Belgium's diamond industry, which involves a large number of Jewish businessmen, asked for extra security on Wednesday after a local Arab militant group said it could be attacked by Islamic militants.
The Belgian port city of Antwerp is the world's largest diamond distribution center and home to a long-established orthodox Jewish community of about 20,000.
A leader of the Arab European League (AEL), which has a following among some young people of immigrant origin, said last week Islamic militant groups such as the Palestinian Hamas movement could target the city if the local Jewish community did not denounce Israeli policies.
"The AEL calls upon the Antwerp Jewish community to cancel its support for Jewish policy as fast as possible and distance itself from the state of Israel. If not, attacks in Antwerp are nearly unavoidable," Ahmed Azzuz, one of the group's leaders, told the Belgian weekly Knack in an interview.
"Antwerp is an obvious target. The diamond sector openly supports the Zionist regime," he was quoted as saying.
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