Greta Thunberg arrested at climate protest in Brussels

Swedish activist Greta Thunberg has been arrested at a climate demonstration in Brussels.

The 21-year-old took part in a sit-in blockade with around 150 other activists on Saturday afternoon, according to the Belgian news agency Belga.

Thunberg was detained together with more than 100 other protesters, a spokesperson for the United for Climate Justice (UCJ) campaign told dpa, before they were released on Saturday evening.

The demonstrators were calling for an end to subsidies for fossil fuels.

Thunberg has already been temporarily detained several times.

The Swede became known worldwide for her "school strike for the climate." Her protest action gave rise to the international climate movement Fridays for Future.

Since the Islamist Hamas attack on Israel a year ago and Israel's subsequent military action in the Gaza Strip, she has repeatedly expressed her solidarity with the Palestinians and accused Israel of genocide.

Critics accuse Thunberg of taking a one-sidedly pro-Palestinian stance during the war in Gaza and on the events that triggered it. In Brussels she wore a keffiyeh, a chequered scarf that has become a sign of Palestinian solidarity.