Listen: Belgium to recognise Palestine at the UN and sanction Israel

Belgium’s Foreign Minister, Maxime Prévot, announced overnight that the country will recognise the state of Palestine during the upcoming UN General Assembly session in New York. But the move comes with conditions.

Recognition will only be formalised once Hamas releases all remaining hostages taken on the 7th of October 2023, and once the group no longer has a role in governing Palestine. What other sanctions were decided and what is the reaction so far?

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Belgium’s Foreign Minister, Maxime Prévot, announced overnight that the country will recognise the state of Palestine during the upcoming UN General Assembly session in New York. But the move comes with conditions. Recognition will only be formalised once Hamas releases all remaining hostages taken on the 7th of October 2023, and once the group no longer has a role in governing Palestine. What other sanctions were decided and what is the reaction so far?

Alongside this, Belgium will introduce twelve sanctions against Israel. These include:
 – a ban on imports from Israeli settlements considered illegal under international law,
 – a review of Belgian public procurement contracts with Israeli companies,
 – restrictions on consular services for Belgians living in those settlements,
 – potential judicial prosecutions,
 – bans on overflights and transit,
 – and declaring two far-right Israeli ministers, several violent settlers, and Hamas leaders persona non grata in Belgium.

The ministers were not named, but they are widely understood to be Itamar Ben-Gvir and Bezalel Smotrich, who have already been sanctioned by the UK and the Netherlands for inciting violence against Palestinians in the West Bank.

Prévot underlined that the measures target the Israeli government and Hamas, not Israeli citizens or Jewish communities. He also announced Belgium will push at EU level for stronger measures, including suspending the EU-Israel association agreement, research cooperation, and technical programmes.

Internationally, Belgium’s move follows similar announcements from France, Australia, Canada and the UK, all of which plan to recognise Palestine at the UN. Slovenia’s president, Nataša Pirc Musar, also criticised the EU this week for failing to act on Gaza, calling Israel’s campaign a genocide. Meanwhile, Israel’s government strongly rejects these accusations and argues that recognition of Palestine rewards Hamas and fuels antisemitism.

Now for the EU this move highlights deep divisions: some members, including France and Spain, support recognition, while others, especially Germany, continue to oppose sanctions or recognition without negotiations.

Belgium’s sanctions are notable because they go further than most other EU states have taken individually. By targeting settlement products, government contracts, and political figures, Belgium is aligning its domestic policies more closely with international rulings such as the 2024 advisory opinion of the International Court of Justice, which found Israel’s occupation of Palestinian territories illegal.

At the same time, the conditions attached to recognition, particularly the requirement that Hamas releases all hostages and exits the political stage, mean this recognition is not immediate, but dependent on future developments.

So, what’s next?

The UN General Assembly opens on the 9th of September and runs until the 23rd. Belgium will join the “New York Declaration,” a joint initiative with France and Saudi Arabia backing a two-state solution. Whether other EU members will join remains uncertain, with divisions inside the bloc still unresolved.

Any suspension of cooperation with Israel requires a qualified majority among member states and so far, Germany and others have blocked it.

Israel is expected to respond strongly. The US has criticised similar moves from other allies, while Israel is reportedly considering annexing parts of the West Bank if more countries proceed with recognition.
Belgium has also pledged financial and political support for reconstruction in Palestine, as well as measures to combat antisemitism domestically. And the recognition, if and when formalised, would mark Belgium’s most significant step on the Israeli-Palestinian conflict in decades.