Belgian Deputy Prime Minister Petra De Sutter on Wednesday called Tuesday’s pager assault on Hezbollah operatives in Lebanon and Syria, which has been widely attributed to Israel, a “terrorist attack,” drawing rebuke from a prominent Brussels-based rabbi.
Folker Türk, the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights, wrote in a statement that the attack “violates international human rights law and, to the extent applicable, international humanitarian law.”
In her statement, De Sutter, a member of the far-left Green Party, wrote: “I strongly condemn the massive terror attack in Lebanon and Syria, which injured thousands of people.”
Several people died and thousands were wounded on Tuesday when more than 2,000 pagers exploded simultaneously in what international media has reported was likely a sophisticated attack by Israel on Hezbollah terrorist operatives. The Iranian proxy group had switched to communicating via pagers out of concern that cellular phones were too vulnerable to Israeli intelligence.
A fresh wave of explosions was reported in Lebanon on Wednesday, reportedly of walkie-talkies used by Hezbollah.
Israel has declined to comment on the attacks, for which it has not assumed responsibility. Hezbollah has vowed to avenge the attacks.
Rabbi Menachem Margolin, the director of the Brussels-based European Jewish Association, condemned De Sutter for her remarks, calling them representative of an “upside down” worldview in light of Hezbollah’s rich record of terrorist attacks against civilians.
Margolin told JNS: “It’s the clearest expression of a double standard and Israel hatred on a fundamental level. Absurdly, Israel is attacked even when it’s terrorists who are hit.”
Footage from the aftermath of the pager assault showed multiple injured military-age men. The BBC and other media reported nine fatalities, including a young girl.
The Green Party in Belgium and its left-wing coalition partners suffered an electoral defeat in the June 9 general elections. Negotiations on a new coalition led by the right-wing New Flemish Alliance are ongoing.
