Israel’s ambassador to Belgium, Emmanuel Nahshon deplored a ”bad anti-Israel political decision.” ”Such a cancellation will affect not only Belgian enterprises but also the Palestinians themselves,” he told BX1 tv channel.  ”One prefers to affect the Palestinians and the Belgian enterprises as long as it hurts the State of Israel,” he said.

BRUSSELS—The Brussels Region government appears set to cancel an economic mission to Israel scheduled for December following pressure from the Socialists and Greens who denounce ”the occupation and violation of human rights.” .

This mission, from December 8 to 11 in Tel Aviv, which was also due to visit the Palestinian Territories,  is jointly organized both by the Brussels and Walloon regions.

Belgian media reported that some ministers in the Brussels government proposed the outright cancellation of the mission while others felt that Belgian companies could instead find new opportunities in Israel.

The reports said that the government will propose next week to the competent minister Pascal Smet, who is currently on an economic mission to China, ‘’to postpone the mission since the moment does not seem opportune.”

A similar mission was canceled in 2014 after the conflict in Gaza.

Israel’s ambassador to Belgium, Emmanuel Nahshon deplored a ”bad anti-Israel political decision.” ”Such a cancellation will affect not only Belgian enterprises but also the Palestinians themselves,” he told BX1 tv channel.  ”One prefers to affect the Palestinians and the Belgian enterprises as long as it hurts the State of Israel,” he said.

The Jewish community secular Center in Brussels (CCLJ) deplored such a cancellation plan. ‘’Israel has the highest ratio of research and development as a percentage of GDP in the world: 4.5% in 2018 to South Korea and Sweden, 84% of which come from the private sector. This economic mission is therefore a major opportunity for Brussels companies to benefit from the lessons of this exceptional situation,’’ it said.

‘’The Israeli economy and industry therefore offer Belgian companies real opportunities for partnerships with pioneering companies in advanced technologies, in sectors as fundamental as IT, biotechnology, medicine, pharmacy, security, agriculture, food.’’

‘’Politically, this postponement is all the more regrettable as this economic mission must also visit the Palestinian territories where participating Belgian companies will be able to establish contacts with potential Palestinian partners,’’ CCLJ added.

‘If this postponement is based on considerations of respect for human rights, we can only denounce a form of “double standards” and hypocrisy that is not expressed when the Brussels government accompanies, as it is doing it now, an economic mission to China. China, where the democratic forces of Hong Kong are currently severely repressed by Beijing and where the rights of the Muslim and Tibetan minorities are systematically flouted,’’ it said.

According to a recent survey by the Anti-Defamation League (ADL), in Europe, support for the campaign of Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions (BDS) against the State of Israel is the highest in Belgium where 18 percent said they supported BDS.