Belgium joins Western states moving to recognise Palestine

Belgian Foreign Minister Maxime Prevot stated that Belgium aims to recognise a Palestinian state at the upcoming UN General Assembly and will enforce sanctions on Israel, as reported by Asharq Al-Awsat via Reuters on September 2nd.

More specifically, Prevot said via a post on X that, “Palestine will be recognized by Belgium at the UN session! And firm sanctions will be imposed against the Israeli government.”

This decision comes amid a rising willingness by Western states to recognise Palestinian statehood.

In July, French President Emmanuel Macron said that France will recognise Palestine at the UN meeting, which is set to take place between September 9th to 23rd in New York.

The same announcement was made by UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer, stating that the move will go ahead unless three demands are fulfilled: Israel facilitates more aid into Gaza, Israel renounces any plans to annex the West Bank and commits itself to a long-term peace process that will lead to a “two-state solution.”

Following these actions from the international community, Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese declared that “a two-state solution is humanity’s best hope to break the cycle of violence in the Middle East and to bring an end to the conflict, suffering, and starvation in Gaza.”

This trend shows that global leaders are becoming increasingly aware of the immensely deteriorating humanitarian situation in the enclave, as a result of Israeli operations. Recently, The International Association of Genocide Scholars, representing roughly 500 experts worldwide, passed a resolution saying that Israel’s actions in Gaza meet the legal criteria for genocide. The Association said Israel is carrying out a genocide on September 1st.

Hundreds of UN staff have urged their rights chief Volker Türk to formally designate the Gaza conflict as genocide. In a letter which was sent on August 27th, they argued that the UN Human Rights Office Of The High Commissioner carries a “strong legal and moral responsibility” to condemn genocide, highlighting internal institutional pressure.

Since October 7th 2023, more than 61,600 people have been killed in Gaza, such as at least 227 from starvation-connected causes linked to limited humanitarian access.

Asharq Al-Awsat via Reuters, Maghrebi.org