Belgium To Recognize Palestinian State at UNGA

By Staff, Agencies  

Belgium's foreign minister Maxime Prevot announced on Tuesday that the country will recognize the State of Palestine at the United Nations General Assembly in September.

“Palestine will be recognized by Belgium at the UN session! And firm sanctions are being imposed against the ‘Israeli’ government,” Prevot wrote on X.

In July, French President Emmanuel Macron stated that France would recognize a Palestinian state at the UN meeting scheduled to be held from September 9 to 23 in New York, prompting more than a dozen countries to follow suit.

Prevot stated that 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,” the Belgian Foreign Minister wrote.

He added that the recognition was not intended to punish the “Israeli” people, but was instead about ensuring their government respects international and humanitarian law while taking action to alter the situation on the ground.

This comes as the “Israeli” war on Gaza continues to claim more Palestinian lives, with the top association on genocide officially declaring what is happening in Gaza as what it is: a genocide.

On September 1, the world’s leading association of genocide experts passed a resolution declaring that the war conducted by "Israel" in Gaza meets the legal definition of genocide under international law.