Belgium to recognize Palestine at the United Nations

In a post on platform X, Prévot wrote: “Belgium will recognize the State of Palestine during the sessions of the UN General Assembly and will impose severe sanctions against the Israeli government.”

At the end of July, French President Emmanuel Macron declared that France would recognize Palestine during the UN General Assembly sessions, scheduled for September 9–23.

Subsequently, more than a dozen Western countries announced they would follow France’s lead, particularly Australia, the United Kingdom, and Canada.

Other countries that signed the so-called “New York Declaration” include Andorra, Finland, Iceland, Ireland, Luxembourg, Malta, New Zealand, Norway, Portugal, San Marino, Slovenia, and Spain.

Prévot added that this decision was made “in light of the humanitarian catastrophe unfolding in Palestine, especially in Gaza, and in response to Israel’s violations of international law.”

The minister further stated that Belgium is “reviewing 12 national sanctions (against Israel), including: a ban on imports of settlement products, reviewing public procurement policies with Israeli companies, restrictions on consular assistance to Belgians residing in settlements deemed illegal under international law, possible legal prosecutions, flight and transit bans, and placing two extremist Israeli ministers and several violent settlers on our country’s list of undesirable persons.”

He also mentioned “a vote in favor of suspending cooperation with Israel at the European level, which requires a qualified majority — including suspension of the EU–Israel cooperation agreement, suspension of research programs, technical cooperation, and more.”