Belgium vows to recognize 'Palestinian state' at the UN this month, announces harsh sanctions against Israel

Belgium intends to recognize a “Palestinian state” at the United Nations sessions this month, the country’s foreign minister, Maxime Prevot announced on Tuesday.

He also revealed that Belgium intends to impose harsh sanctions against Israel, including banning two Israeli ministers.

“Palestine will be recognized by Belgium during the UN session! And firm sanctions are being imposed on the Israeli government,” Prevot stated.

He argued that the country’s decision should be seen “in light of the humanitarian tragedy unfolding in Palestine, particularly in Gaza, and in response to the violence perpetrated by Israel in violation of international law.”

🇧🇪🇵🇸🚨La Palestine sera reconnue par la Belgique lors de la session de l’ONU ! Et des sanctions fermes sont prises à l’égard du gouvernement israélien. Tout antisémitisme ou glorification du terrorisme par les partisans du Hamas sera aussi plus fortement dénoncé.

🔸Au vu du…

— Maxime PREVOT (@prevotmaxime) September 2, 2025

Belgium has been a vocal critic of Israel’s military operations against the terrorist organization Hamas in Gaza. The foreign minister threatened that the country intends to implement twelve sanctions on the Jewish state and its government. 

“Belgium had to take strong decisions to increase pressure on the Israeli government,” Prevot warned.

The sanctions reportedly include a ban on importing products from Israeli communities in Judea and Samaria (internationally known as the West Bank) and a review of public procurement policies concerning trade with Israeli businesses, as well as restrictions on consular assistance to Belgians living in "illegal settlements", potential judicial prosecutions, bans on overflights and transit, and the designation of two "extremist Israeli ministers" and "several violent settlers" as "persona non grata" in Belgium.

However, Prevot also noted that, given the “trauma that the Israeli people have suffered from the terrorist attacks by Hamas on October 7, 2023,” the “administrative formalization” of the recognition would only be declared by royal decree “when the last hostage has been released and Hamas no longer exercises any form of governance over Palestine.”

Belgium is thereby joining a growing list of Western countries that have or intend to recognize “Palestine” as a state.

In 2024, Spain, Ireland and Norway officially recognized a “Palestinian state.” In July, France, the United Kingdom, Canada announced that they would also unilaterally recognize “Palestine” at the upcoming UN session. Last month, Australia also announced its intention to recognize the Palestinian Authority as a de facto state. 

The annual United Nations Assembly is scheduled to open on Sept. 9, and the high-level debate sessions will be held from Sept. 23-27. 

Like other Western countries, Belgium says that its diplomatic move aims to implement a peaceful two-state solution to the conflict. However, the Western nations largely ignore the fact that neither Hamas nor the presumably more “moderate” Palestinian Authority recognize Israel’s right to exist as the homeland of the Jewish people. 

Israel and the United States have argued that the diplomatic recognitions constitute a reward for Hamas and the Oct. 7 atrocities.

The U.S. Ambassador to France, Charles Kushner, was summoned last month after he criticized French President Emmanuel Macron for failing to combat antisemitism in France and for encouraging hatred against the Jewish state. 

"Public statements haranguing Israel and gestures toward recognition of a Palestinian state embolden extremists, fuel violence, and endanger Jewish life in France. In today's world, anti-Zionism is antisemitism – plain and simple," Kushner wrote in the Wall Street Journal. 

Belgium has been struggling for years with Islamist terrorism and extremism. In 2024, the Belgian justice minister Paul Van Tigchelt confirmed that Hamas is active in Belgium. 

In June, Islamist radicals in the Belgian capital Brussels, glorified the Oct. 7 massacre by dressing up as Hamas terrorists with prop guns while other “actors” simulated massacring Jews. 

Meanwhile, the British Foreign Secretary David Lammy accused Israel on Monday of creating a man-made famine in hunger and said he was “outraged” by Jerusalem’s alleged restrictions on aid to Gaza. 

“This is not a natural disaster, it’s a manmade famine in the 21st century,” Lammy claimed. “I’m outraged by the Israeli government’s refusal to allow in sufficient aid,” he continued, arguing that “there is only one way out — an immediate ceasefire.”

However, Lammy’s claim is not supported by available data. Israel says it has facilitated the entry of about 1.8 million tons of humanitarian aid into Gaza since the war began in October 2023.

Much of that aid has reportedly been seized by Hamas, while Israel has also criticized the United Nations for failing to distribute large quantities of aid packages that have been photographed rotting in the sun inside Gaza.