Belgium, like France, Saudi Arabia, and Turkiye, is taking a clear stance on the issue of Palestine.
According to RTBF, Belgium’s position regarding Gaza: Minister Prévot plans to move forward by the time of the UN General Assembly in September. The Chamber’s Foreign Relations Committee was convened this Thursday afternoon for an exchange of views on the situation in Gaza. Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs, Maxime Prévot (Les Engagés), was expected by the MPs. Several opposition parties are urging the government to recognize the State of Palestine and to sanction the State of Israel. The Arizona (The De Wever government is the incumbent federal government of Belgium after 2024 federal elections) majority is currently frozen on this issue due to disagreements between the coalition parties. However, by the end of September and the UN General Assembly, Belgium is expected to take a position on the recognition of the Palestinian State. Foreign Minister Maxime Prévot presented at length the course of action that Belgium should, in his view, adopt in this matter. The party of the MFA is Les Engagés. It is a french-speaking belgian political party, centrist.
On Twitter, yesterday, the Belgian MFA wrote: ‘Belgium urges the government of Israel to reverse its decision to outrool operation ‘Gideon Chariots II.
The offensive on Gaza city will lead to more death, destruction and mass displacement and will not contribute to the release of the hostages.’
What does the federal government intend to do in the “Gaza” case? Foreign Minister Maxime Prévot (Les Engagés) responded to the opposition’s criticisms and the remarks of various political groups. “You were right to call this meeting, because the situation in Palestine does not take vacations, and even less respite,” the minister reacted immediately, stating that “we cannot remain without a position for six more weeks and without being accountable to the population.”
According to the Belgian newspaper RTBF, for nearly an hour and a half, the minister reviewed the issue. He explained to the MPs that the government would meet “in the coming weeks” to discuss Belgium’s position regarding the events unfolding in Gaza. The minister also recalled that “over the past six months, the government and I have not remained inactive.” “Belgium has vigorously advocated at the European level for sanctions to be imposed on political and military leaders of both Hamas and Israel,” explained Minister Prévot, without success due to Hungary’s blockage. “I will again put forward the request to blacklist in Belgium, as the Netherlands have decided.“
On August 12, the minister wrote on X
“Belgium joins the United Kingdom in calling on Israel to lift the restrictions imposed on international NGOs in Gaza and the West Bank to ensure safe access to aid. NGOs must be able to respond where it is required by an emergency. Hindering humanitarian access exacerbates the crisis and violates international humanitarian law”.
As a reminder, Foreign Minister Maxime Prévot (Engagés) summoned Israel’s ambassador to Belgium on August 8, following the announcement of the Israeli government’s plan to occupy Gaza City. The Belgian minister stated that he wanted to “express our total disapproval of this decision, but also of the continuation of Israeli colonization” in the Palestinian territories.
As for the possibility of qualifying Israel’s actions in Gaza as genocide, this is still not on the agenda of the De Wever government.
In resume, Maxime Prévot was very clear on the RTL info 7 p.m. news this Thursday. The Foreign Minister detailed where the Belgian government stands regarding the possible recognition of a Palestinian State and potential sanctions against the State of Israel.
“Faced with the utter horror we are witnessing in Gaza, faced indeed with the commission of all these horrific acts having all the appearances of genocide, if we stick to the legal aspects — and I remind you that to intervene, it is not necessary for genocide to be confirmed, it is enough that there is a risk of genocide — even the most reluctant, I imagine, are aware that today, we cannot even dismiss the possibility of risk. We must act. There is a moral obligation. There are, in any case, legal obligations under the treaties to which Belgium is a signatory. So in the coming days, before September 20, the date on which the United Nations General Assembly meets in New York and where, at the initiative of France and Saudi Arabia, the issue of recognizing Palestine as a State will be raised, we must be able to have a clear government position. I believe it is our moral and legal duty to move towards the recognition of Palestine as a State, because otherwise we will not have a two-state solution, the one advocated internationally,” insisted Maxime Prévot (Les Engagés) on the RTL info.
But this position in favor of recognizing Palestine, although shared by Les Engagés, CD&V, and Vooruit, is not supported by the MR and N-VA. This will clearly pose a problem for Les Engagés if they do not accept this recognition, as announced by the Foreign Minister: “It will be the reason for a serious government crisis, I believe, because otherwise we will also have a total loss of credibility on the international stage. And I, when I accepted to be Foreign Minister, it was because I believe, like all the diplomats who serve Belgium’s interests daily, that we have earned our stripes, small country that we are, on the international stage, because we have always had a diplomacy that highlighted the issue of respect for international law. If we ourselves do not do it and we have double standards between conflicts like what is happening in the DRC, in Ukraine, or in Gaza, we will no longer be credible. And that will be a long-term problem. And I refuse to let that happen. We must therefore make progress. I note, moreover, that today, notably on the N-VA side, openings have been made.” (RTL INFO)
In conclusion, Les Engagés (Belgian political party) put pressure on the MR (Liberal French-speaking belgian party, position center-right)and N-VA (liberal conservative belgian party/ flemish nationalism). The opposition is putting pressure on the government of De Wever (Flemish Prime Minister) to recognize Palestine and to recognize the ongoing genocide in the Palestinian territories occupied by the Israelis.
SOURCES
RTBF. (2025, août 14). Position belge à propos de Gaza : le ministre Prévot prévoit d’avancer d’ici l’assemblée générale de l’ONU en septembre. RTBF. https://www.rtbf.be/dossier/politique
RTL. (2025, août 14). Le refus du MR et de la N-VA de reconnaître la Palestine et de sanctionner Israël. RTL Info. https://www.rtl.be/actu/belgique/politique/le-refus-du-mr-et-de-la-n-va-de-reconnaitre-la-palestine-et-de-sanctionner/2025-08-14/article/759979
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