A so-called “resistance festival” in Brussels turned into a grotesque theater performance celebrating Hamas terrorists, complete with fake executions and cheering crowds.

Samidoun Brussels organized the festival which ran from June 6-8 in the Saint-Gilles district alongside a coalition of more than 35 left-wing and anti-imperialist groups. Viral video showed masked performers dressed in military fatigues and keffiyehs wielding prop guns while other actors played dead bodies sprawled across the ground.

When the mock terrorists finished their simulated killing spree, they embraced and raised their hands in victory as fake blood pooled around the “victims.” Spectators responded with whoops, cheers, and thunderous applause. Music and chants of “From the river to the sea” also accompanied the performance while attendees celebrated what organizers described as Palestinian “resistance.”

“The message conveyed is therefore that, in the context of Israeli impunity and the inaction of world governments, the Palestinian people are resisting and expect their liberation to come only from themselves,” the organizers stated, insisting their theatrical bloodbath was merely “artistic and allegorical.”

Founded in 2012, Samidoun operates as an affiliate of the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine (PFLP), which is designated as a terrorist organization by the EU, US, and UK. Dutch authorities banned Samidoun as a terrorist group in October 2024, while Germany prohibited its operations following the October 7 Hamas massacre.

Beyond the mock massacre, the festival’s broader program included film screenings, political panels titled “All together against Zionism,” and workshops with the ominously named “School of the Revolution” teaching participants about “resisting police violence and state repression.” Letter-writing workshops for dangerous Arab terrorists being held in Israeli jails and discussions on “anti-imperialist struggles” rounded out the programming.

Disturbingly, the event proceeded with the blessings of Jean Spinette, the socialist mayor of Saint-Gilles. Spinette personally authorized the festival after consultations with police and now claims he had no idea what was coming.

“I share the indignation at the discovery of these images,” Saint-Gilles Mayor Jean Spinette remarked Monday in comments to The Brussels Times, claiming he was both “sad” and “angry” that it undermines the “commune’s efforts towards social cohesion.”

But Spinette’s shock rings hollow given that he personally authorized the festival after consultations with police. In his approval letter, the municipality explicitly banned “explicit or implicit references to Hamas or Hezbollah” and prohibited any “incitement to hatred or violence.”

Yet somehow city officials failed to anticipate that a festival organized by Samidoun might cross those lines. Samidoun has held similar “resistance festivals” in Brussels since 2023, with previous events featuring inflammatory speeches calling for the defeat of Europe, the US, and Israel “by means of Kalashnikovs, rockets and bullets.”

“Seeing these images, I realize this is not the case,” Spinette admitted, announcing he’s considering referring the matter to prosecutors. “I won’t leave it at that.”

Israeli Ambassador to Belgium Idit Rosenzweig-Abu posted video footage of the performance, saying she “just couldn’t believe it’s real, but it is.”

Georges-Louis Bouchez, president of the center-right MR party, slammed Spinette’s response as a “bad comedy,” noting the mayor was “perfectly informed of this event and the radicals who composed it” through advance briefings.

“He preferred not to act so as not to upset his friends on the left,” Bouchez said. “It is high time to ban these associations that stoke hatred.”