Alexander De Croo said he is looking for partners within the European Union to impose sanctions on the country in response to the dire situation in Gaza.

 

Belgian Prime Minister Alexander De Croo declared that he ‘’doesn’t think we can continue to regard Israel as a trading partner”.

He said he is looking for partners within the European Union to impose sanctions on the country in response to the dire situation in Gaza. “We cannot just stand by, use big words and just say, ‘We cannot let this happen.’”, he said in remarks made to readers of daily Flemish newspaper Het Laatste Nieuws in an election interview. Parliament elections will take place in June in Belgium.

He said he wants to send a clear message to Israel by stopping trade with the Israeli-occupied territories, including the West Bank.

“If  Belgium alone imposes these sanctions, trade routes will simply change,” he said.  “That’s why we’ve been discussing with other European countries for some weeks now how to tackle this problem, without making it loud and clear. Europe has an association treaty with Israel, which contains conditions relating to human rights. We have asked (EU foreign policy chief) Josep Borell) to investigate this point.”

Belgium currently holds the Presidency of the Council of the European Union.

De Croo admited he didn’t hold the same view two months ago. “But since then, there have been 35,000 deaths, including 10,000 children. That’s not the only reason, but we Europeans will have to bear the consequences. In ten years’ time, we’ll be told: ‘You watched and did nothing’. And we have since seen the risk of escalation. Ships are being attacked in the Red Sea. And after the exchange of fire between Iran and Israel, we also had to hold our breath.”

The import ban from the ‘’occupied territories’’ would include agricultural products such as dates, olive oil and wine. Belgium is currently the EU’s 3rd largest importing country of Israeli products.

In early November, political parties such as Green, Vooruit and CD&V already called for an import ban on products from Israeli settlements in the West Bank, but Belgian Foreign Minister Hadja Lahbib (MR) said at the time, “Sanctions only make sense if they are taken at the European level or higher.”

“There are a number of countries that are open to our reasoning, these are countries that from the beginning had the same position as we had a few months ago,” De Croo said. “We are trying to go beyond that group of like-minded countries, I think it is logical for us to try to convince other countries of it.”

The Belgian Prime Minister stressed that his country has been a trailblazer many times in recent months. “Months ago we also said that in our country we wanted a ban on the entry of violent settlers, today the US has also taken that kind of measure.”

‘’In this conflict I don’t want to have to say years later: I saw what happened, I talked about the steps that should be taken, but didn’t make the efforts to realize them.”

De Croo  said he realizes that many people feel that “too little is being done in this area and too late.” Pro-Palestinian groups and activists have been calling since the beginning of the conflict to boycott in-store Israeli products such as cosmetics, vegetables and fruits.

“I have ears for that, but Belgium alone would have little impact. We have always managed to take a position in recent months that was a huge step forward and then we have the other countries to convince and I am trying to do that here with an import ban on products from those occupied territories. “

The Belgian premier has been criticized by Jewish community leaders in the country who deplored his ”strong hostility” towards Israel. ‘’By abandoning Israel, you are abandoning your Jewish community,’’  they stressed.

In a response made public on Saturday, De Croo said: “I take issue with the strong hostility towards Israel that you attribute to me. I refute this assertion and even find it dangerous. Criticism of Prime Minister Netanyahu’s far-right governm must be possible, without ever being reduced to criticism of Israel. I would go even further and say that we have a duty to criticize a government where radical extremists advocate colonization and population replacement.”