Belgian Foreign Minister Maxime Prévot on Thursday condemned what he called the “horrors” that Israel is committing in Gaza and added he would promote advancing sanctions against the Jewish state and “violent settlers,” as he termed it.
“Let’s be honest, condemnations have had no impact on Israel. Every week that passes, it gets worse. We can no longer just denounce, we must act. This is why I will propose to the government various measures of sanction against the Israeli government and the violent settlers,” Prévot told the Belga news agency.
Prévot’s ability to impose sanctions on Israel is “uncertain” because of the Belgian government’s make-up, the Le Soir newspaper noted.
Prévot belongs to the centrist Les Engagés party, a junior coalition partner of Prime Minister Bart de Wever’s right-of-center New Flemish Alliance party. De Wever, a longtime ally of Israel, has previously reined in Prévot when it comes to making foreign policy statements about Israel. De Wever has disputed the genocide allegation against Israel and cautioned against recognizing a Palestinian state.
Belgium’s previous government, where the Socialist Party was the largest partner, was among the most anti-Israel in the European Union. Under it, Belgium announced that it would intervene in favor of the genocide case filed by South Africa against Israel at the International Court of Justice.
The New Flemish Alliance won the highest number of votes in the 2024 election and assembled a center-right coalition. The coalition partners agreed to put aside their differences regarding Israel, a source with knowledge of internal coalition talks told JNS in March.
“I hope it will be possible to converge on some [of these sanctions] in light of the horrors experienced in Gaza and elsewhere. Especially since [Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin] Netanyahu reiterated this Tuesday his desire for total war in the Gaza Strip, neglecting the fate of the hostages and considering forced displacement of the population. Other European countries are mobilizing,” Prévot told Belga on Thursday.
Hamas invaded Israel on Oct. 7, 2023, killing some 1,200 people and abducting another 251, among other war crimes and atrocities. Israel launched a military campaign to dismantle Hamas and Netanyahu said this month it would not end until the terrorist group is no longer in power in Gaza.
Tensions over Israel are also visible in the Dutch government, where the staunchly pro-Israel Party for Freedom of Geert Wilders is the largest coalition partner. Whereas Wilders has consistently spoken out in favor of Israel’s right to defend itself against Hamas and dismantle it in Gaza, Dutch Foreign Minister Caspar Veldkamp of the centrist New Social Contract party earlier this month said that he would block the renewal of a cooperation program between the E.U. and Israel.