Belgium will recognize the State of Palestine at the United Nations General Assembly in September, its foreign minister announced on Tuesday, September 2. "Palestine will be recognized by Belgium at the UN session! And firm sanctions are being imposed against the Israeli government," Foreign Minister Maxime Prévot wrote on X.
In July, French President Emmanuel Macron said France would recognize a Palestinian state at the UN meeting, due to be held from September 9 to 23 in New York. More than a dozen other Western countries have since called on others to do the same.
Prévot said the decision came "in view of the humanitarian tragedy" unfolding in Gaza, where Israeli offensives have displaced most of the population at least once and the UN has declared a famine. "In the face of the violence perpetrated by Israel in violation of international law, given its international obligations, including the duty to prevent any risk of genocide, Belgium had to take strong decisions to increase pressure on the Israeli government and Hamas terrorists," Prévot wrote.
"This is not about punishing the Israeli people, but rather about ensuring that its government respects international and humanitarian law and taking action to try to change the situation on the ground," he added.