Belgian Foreign Minister Maxime Prévot announced Friday that he has summoned Israel’s ambassador to Belgium, Idit Rosenzweig-Abu, following the announcement of the Israeli security cabinet’s approval of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s plan to defeat Hamas, including controlling Gaza City.
The Belgian minister said he wanted to “express our total disapproval of this decision, but also of the continuation of Israeli colonization in the Palestinian territories.’’
Netanyhau’s office said Friday that the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) will prepare for “taking control of Gaza City, while distributing humanitarian assistance to the civilian population outside the combat zones.’’
It said that the forum voted on five principles: disarming Hamas, returning all of the living and dead hostages, demilitarizing Gaza, Israeli security control of the Strip and creating an “alternative civil administration that is neither Hamas nor the Palestinian Authority.”
IDF Chief of Staff Lt. Gen. Eyal Zamir said that in the coming days the IDF will deepen operational planning, while maintaining troop safety and endurance—all with the goal of creating the conditions for the return of the hostages and the dismantling of Hamas’s rule.
By summoning the Israeli ambassador, the Belgian minister said he wants to show his disapproval of both Israel and the settlements, “in particular the resumption of the E1 project east of Jerusalem and the desire to annex the West Bank recently promoted by the Knesset.”
For Maxime Prévot, these are “a series of actions that could potentially wipe Palestine off the map, which are unacceptable and contrary to international law, United Nations resolutions, and the decisions of the International Court of Justice.”
“We must vigorously advocate for a reversal of these intentions, which would permanently compromise any prospect of a ceasefire and a peaceful and lasting two-state solution, which Belgium has been insisting on for months, without forgetting full free access by land for humanitarian aid,” the minister continued.
“While it is legitimate to want to destroy the terrorist group Hamas, this cannot be done through disproportionate operations that will further lengthen the already very long list of Palestinian civilian victims,” he concluded.
Earlier this week, the Belgian minister announced that his country would support a partial suspension of Israel’s participation in the Horizon Europe research program along with several other EU member states.
The measure has been proposed by the European Commission in response to the humanitarian crisis in Gaza.
The Belgian coalition government has been unable to reach a common position on the Israeli-Palestinian issue. Within the government, the liberal MR and Flemish nationalist N-VA parties continue to reject the recognition of a Palestinian state. Maxime Prévot is from the centrist Les Engagés party which favours such a move.
The Parliament’s foreign affairs committee is scheduled to hold an emergency meeting on August 14 to decide on the matter.