Belgium to recognize Palestine at UN General Assembly: Foreign minister

WASHINGTON

Belgium will recognize Palestine as a state at the UN General Assembly in New York later this month, Foreign Minister Maxime Prevot announced Monday.

In a statement on the US social media company X’s platform, Prevot said Belgium will join other countries in recognizing Palestinian statehood while adopting a package of sanctions against Israel.

“Firm sanctions are being imposed on the Israeli government. Any antisemitism or glorification of terrorism by Hamas supporters will also be more strongly condemned,” he wrote.

Prevot stressed that the steps were meant to uphold international law, not punish Israeli citizens.

Belgium’s decision comes as several countries including France, the UK, Canada and Australia announced similar plans to recognize Palestine during the General Assembly, joining 147 nations that already do. The General Assembly begins on Sept. 9.

Israel continues to occupy Palestinian territories and rejects a withdrawal that would allow for an independent Palestinian state with East Jerusalem as its capital on the pre-1967 borders.

On Friday, the US State Department said it was canceling visas for members of the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO) and the Palestinian Authority (PA) ahead of the gathering.

The move came amid growing global outrage over Israel's brutal offensive on the Gaza Strip, where more than 63,500 Palestinians have been killed in air and ground attacks since the Palestinian group Hamas' Oct. 7, 2023 attack.

Israel’s full blockade of the Gaza Strip, in place since early March, has created catastrophic conditions for the enclave’s 2.4 million residents, leading to famine, widespread disease and the collapse of essential services.

Last November, the International Criminal Court issued arrest warrants for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and former Defense Minister Yoav Gallant for war crimes and crimes against humanity in Gaza.

Israel also faces a genocide case at the International Court of Justice over its war on the enclave.