Belgium will recognize a Palestinian state in the United Nations General Assembly, the Minister of Foreign Affairs Maxime Prevot said on Tuesday, adding to international pressure on Israel after similar movements of Australia, Great Britain, Canada and France.
Under global criticism for his war in Gaza, Israel was irritated by the promises of promises to officially recognize a Palestinian state at a summit during the United Nations event this month. Belgium will join the signatories of the New York Declaration, will open the way to a solution to two states, or to a Palestinian state coexisting in peace alongside Israel, said Prevot in an article on X.
🇧🇪🇵🇸🚨The Palestine will be reunited by Belgium during the UN session! And firm sanctions are taken at the Israeli government’s lead. Let anti -Semitism or glorification of terrorism by supporters of Hamas Serum also more strongly decreed.
🔸Au seen from …
– Maxime Prevot (@prevotmaxime) September 2, 2025
The decision comes “in the light of the humanitarian tragedy which takes place in Palestine, in particular in Gaza, and in response to the violence perpetrated by Israel in violation of international law,” added Prevot.
Belgium intends to recognize a Palestinian state as part of a joint diplomatic initiative led by France and Saudi Arabia, said Prevot. This decision is described as a political signal also aimed at condemning the expansion of the Israeli Regulation and the military presence in the territories.
US President Donald Trump criticized Canada’s decision to support the Palestinian state and Rubio said France’s decision was reckless. The White House did not respond to a request for comments from Reuters after Belgium’s declaration.
Learn more: The Red Cross warns against the evacuation of Gaza City
Belgium would also receive 12 “firm” sanctions against Israel, such as the ban on importing products from its colonies, an examination of public procurement policies with Israeli companies and declaring the leaders of Hamas Persona Non Grata in Belgium, said Prevot.
The European Union’s foreign ministers remained strongly divided during a meeting in Copenhagen on Saturday during the war in Gaza, some urging the block to exert significant economic pressure on Israel, while others firmly opposed such measures.
The Palestinians have long asked for a state in the West Bank occupied by Israeli and Gaza, with East Jerusalem as capital. The United States affirms that such a state can only be implemented by direct negotiations between Israelis and Palestinians.
Belgium, a member of the European Union, has made the decision to put pressure on the Israeli government and Hamas, said Prevot. Prevot also underlined Belgium’s commitment to the reconstruction of Palestine, adding that the country would argue for “European measures targeting Hamas and supporting new Belgian initiatives to combat anti -Semitism”.
The United States said on Friday that it would prohibit the president of the Palestinian authority Mahmoud Abbas from going to New York in September for a United Nations, where several American allies should officially recognize Palestine as a state.
West Bank
Reuters, citing three Israeli officials, reported in August that Israel was considering an annexation in the occupied West Bank as a possible response to France and other countries recognizing a Palestinian State.
In 2024, the highest United Nations Court judged that the Israeli occupation of the Palestinian territories, including the West Bank, and its colonies were illegal and should be removed as soon as possible.
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Israel says that the territories are not occupied in legal terms because they are on disputed lands, but the United Nations and most of the international community consider them as an occupied territory. The Israeli annexions of East Jerusalem and Golan Heights ago have not won international recognition.
Israel launched its assault on the Gaza Strip in October 2023, after Hamas fighters, the Palestinian militant group in control of the territory, attacked the Israeli communities, killing 1,200 people and capturing more than 250 hostages.
