During the session, some MPs emphasized the need to make progress (regarding recognition of the State of Palestine) before the next session of the UN General Assembly in September. Belgian Foreign Minister Maxime Prévost said his country's government would hold a meeting in the coming weeks to discuss Belgium's position on Gaza, recognition of Palestine, and the possibility of imposing sanctions on Israel.
The Flemish Christian Democrats, the Engaged, and the Flemish Socialist parties, which are partners in the government coalition, call for recognition of the State of Palestine and the imposition of economic sanctions on Israel.
These parties also stress the need for additional measures, such as barring some Israeli ministers from entering Belgium, as part of a process to move beyond mere expressions of condemnation and engage in action to halt Israel's war of extermination in Gaza.
On the other hand, other coalition partners, including the New Flemish Alliance and the Reform Movement, oppose what they describe as "hasty" recognition of the State of Palestine, claiming that the necessary conditions for this have not been met and that the proposed Belgian sanctions on Israel will not be effective without US support.
The emergency session of the Belgian parliament came as Western countries, most notably France and Britain, intend to recognize the State of Palestine during the UN General Assembly meetings next September.
In late May, Belgian Foreign Minister Maxime Prévost described the ongoing Israeli blockade of the Gaza Strip as a "war crime" and revealed that his government had received proposals to impose sanctions on Tel Aviv.
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In statements to local media at the time, Prevot said in condemnation: "I don't know what other atrocities need to happen in Gaza before we can talk about genocide!"
With American support, Israel has been committing genocide in Gaza since October 7, 2023, including killing, starvation, destruction, and forced displacement, ignoring all international calls and orders from the International Court of Justice to halt it.
The Israeli genocide left 61 Palestinians dead, 776 others wounded, and 154,906 Palestinians injured, most of them children and women. More than 9,000 Palestinians were missing, hundreds of thousands were displaced, and a famine claimed the lives of 239 people, including 106 children.
