At a select meeting of the government on Wednesday, Maxime Prévot is to present a note containing “concrete proposals.” In addition to the recognition of a Palestinian state Palestine, these include a travel ban for Israeli ministers Itamar Ben-Gvir and Bezalel Smotrich, a ban on Israeli products coming from the West Bank territories, as well as ban on overflights and arms transit to Israel.

At a joint press conference with his German counterpart Friedrich Merz in Berlin on Tuesday, De Wever reiterated that the recognition of Palestine can only be meaningful under strict conditions. In his view, recognition without those guarantees would be “pointless and even counterproductive.”

Belgian Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Maxime Prévot (Les Engagés) has not ruled out blocking government initiatives if his Liberal MR and Flemish nationalist NV-A partners in the coalition government continue to prevent him from taking a firmer stance toward Israel and recognizing the Palestinian state.

“If there is no stronger tone within the government regarding the human rights violations committed by the Israeli government, or if no measures are taken in favor of recognizing Palestine, a major crisis is looming,” Prévot warned in an interview with daily newspaper De Standaard.

Prévot’s centrist party ‘’Les Engagés’’ together with the Flemish Christian-Democrats ( CD&V) and Flemish Socialists (Vooruit), members of the -so-called Arizona federal coalition, oppose the N-VA and especially the MR on these two points.

“For me and my party, Gaza is indeed a crucial issue,” te Foreign Minister said. “We absolutely must find a solution within the government,” he urged. “The attitude of one person cannot compromise the reputation of the entire country,” he says of MR president Georges-Louis Bouchez.

Belgian Prime Minister Bart De Wever (who is from the NV-A party) and his Deputy Prime Ministers are to meet on Wednesday in the framework of a select Council of ministers. Maxime Prévot will bring a note containing “concrete proposals.” In addition to the recognition of a Palestinian state Palestine, these include a travel ban for Israeli ministers Itamar Ben-Gvir and Bezalel Smotrich, a ban on Israeli products coming from the West Bank territories, as well as ban on overflights and arms transit to Israel.

“I cannot imagine Belgium joining the small club of countries that do not recognize Palestine,” the Foreign Minister added. “If we miss the boat, Belgium’s international image will suffer,’’ he added.

“We must take a step towards recognizing the Palestinian state and impose more sanctions and rigor on the Israeli state,” said Yvan Verougstraete, president of Les Engagés, in an interview with BX1. According to him, the issue is a “choice for society.” “Our humanity is at stake,” he said.

At a joint press conference with his German counterpart Friedrich Merz in Berlin on Tuesday, De Wever reiterated that the recognition of Palestine can only be meaningful under strict conditions. In his view, recognition without those guarantees would be “pointless and even counterproductive.”

“Hamas must disappear completely, there must be a credible Palestinian Authority, an agreement must be reached on borders, and Israel must receive security guarantees. Without that, recognition makes no sense,” the Belgian Prime Minister stressed.