A meeting of the EU-Israel Assocition Council will take place on February 24 in Brussels, the first such a gathering since 2022 and after a pause of ten years.
The meeting between EU Foreign Ministers and Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Sa’ar will be held in the sidelines of the Foreign Affairs Council.
The new Belgian Foreign Minister, Maxime Prévot, said that the EU-Israel meeting will be ”an opportunity to reiterate the importance of international law and the right of self-determination.”
He spoke last week during a debate in the Parliament which gave a vote of confidence to the new coalition government, led by Flemish nationalist Bart De Wever, after several months of negotiations.
The new coalition, dubbed the Arizona coalition after the colours of the US state flag, bridges both political and linguistic divides.
The new government brings together three parties from Flemish-speaking Flanders: De Wever’s N-VA (New Flemish Alliance, the largest party in Belgium), the centrist Christian-Democrats CD&V and the center-left st Vooruit (Onward). It also includes two parties from French-speaking Wallonia: the centrist Les Engages, of Christian-Democrat background and the centre-right liberal Reformist Movement (MR).
Speaking to reporters, the new Foreign Minister slammed U.S. President Donald Trump’s proposal to resettle the Palestinians from Gaza, calling it “outrageous, grotesque and shocking”. Maxime Prévot sees them as a “serious attack on human rights”. ‘’Forced displacement of populations in Gaza and the West Bank is a grave breach of international humanitarian law,’’ he said. ‘’Stability in the Middle East requires full respect for international law and the implementation of a two-state solution,’’ he added.
He also expressed deep regret on the issuance of the US executive order seeking to impose sanctions on the International Criminal Court. ‘’The ICC is a central pillar of the world order and plays a determining role in the fight against impunity. Belgium has supported the ICC since its establishment and attaches great importance to respecting its independence and impartiality. Belgium remains committed to protecting the ICC and limiting the impact of these sanctions.’’
The first statements by the new Foreign Minister appear to be at odds with the general feeling that the new government under Bart De Wever represents an important change in its policy towards Israel compared to the previous government who under former Prime Minister Alexander De Croo was considered as one of the most hostile of Israel in Europe together with Spain and Ireland. He even promoted sanctions against Israel for its war against Hamas in Gaza, drawing a rebuke from the local Jewish community which considered that he had ‘’abandoned the community.’’
Belgium has become over the years a hotbed for pro-Palestinian groups who during demonstrations in Brussels have openly express support for terrorist Hamas and Hezbollah.
With the new Prime Minister, the change is significant. Bart De Wever, who was until last year mayor of Antwerp, a city with a large Orthodox Jewish community, has developed strong ties with the community.
What can be said is that the text of the new coalition agreement, that EJP has read, effectively sets a different stance on Israel, the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, the fight against terrorism and against antisemitism.
“The new government presents a more balanced and even positive stance toward Israel,” according to Michael Freilich, the sole Jewish member of the Belgian federal parliament and a member of Bart De Wever’s party. “Unlike the previous government, which promoted sanctions against Israel and recognized a Palestinian state, this time the situation is different,” he told Israel Hayom/.
Among others, it calls for the Iranian Revolutionary Guards Corps (IRGC) to be placed on the European Union terror list and the banning of Hezbollah in its enterity thus removing the artificial distinction between the political and military wing of the Lebanese shiite terrorist group
Here are some translated extracts of the coalition agreement:
On Iran:
‘’The Islamic Republic of Iran is actively undermining the West and our way of life in every way, not least through its arms supplies to the Russian Federation in its aggression against Ukraine. In concert with our allies, we are building a stronger dam against this. We continue to denounce human and women’s rights violations and support the Iranian people’s call for democracy. We call a halt to the destabilization of the region through their proxies and do not allow ourselves to be blackmailed by their hostage diplomacy. We are putting maximum effort into prevention, education and empowerment of our citizens. We are taking a European initiative to formulate a joint response to hostage diplomacy. Together with other European member states, we are taking the initiative to place the Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps on the European terror list and to call for tougher economic and other sanctions. In concert with our allies, we are preventing the Islamic Republic of Iran from acquiring nuclear weapons.’’
On the Israeli-Palestinian conflict :
‘’In the charged Israeli-Palestinian conflict, we always take the side of peace. We stress the importance of a lasting peace and of sustained efforts in the Middle East peace process. We seek a leading role for the EU in order to achieve, through diplomatic means, a two-state solution that would both guarantee Israel’s security and allow for the recognition of Palestine, while respecting its territorial integrity. We will denounce any action that jeopardizes this solution. Therefore, we advocate -according to the conclusions of the European Council of October 2024- further sanctioning the settlers who pursue their aggressive settlement expansion in the West Bank, as well as taking action against extremist and terrorist groups that threaten Israel’s security. We also urge the relevant authorities to act against hatred and intolerance that threatens the two-state solution. The first step in providing perspective is to ensure ceasefire and reconstruction support.’’
‘’The federal government will provide humanitarian aid and support to make that reconstruction is possible, stressing that only civilians and aid organizations can receive humanitarian aid and that it must not be diverted. We say an absolute no to any form of anti-Semitism and terrorism. We call for the removal of the artificial distinction between a political and military wing of Hezbollah and for a European terror list that keeps pace with evolutions on the ground and the spread of affiliated support movements in Belgium.
On Lebanon and Syria :
‘’In Lebanon, we call for compliance with Security Council Resolution 1701 and support the Lebanese State in its efforts to undertake reconstruction, consolidate the rule of law and preserve its territorial integrity. We stress at all times the importance we attach to respecting international law.’’
‘’Syria’s independence, sovereignty and territorial integrity within secure borders must be respected at all times, in accordance with international law. In doing so, we attach great importance to respecting human rights, with particular attention to women’s rights and the rights of religious and ethnic minorities. This should open the way to a peaceful, democratic political transition with equal rights for all Syrians and enable a safe and dignified return as a sustainable solution for Syrian refugees through the economic recovery of the country. The fight against impunity also plays an important role here.’’
Among other moves representing a clear change of direction, the new Defense Minister Theo Francken, who is also from the NV-A party, has stated that Belgium would continue to purchase arms from Israel.
It now remains to be seen whether all the coalition partners will follow the letter of the governmental agreement. Within the coalition, the NV-A and liberal MR under leadership of Georges-Louis Bouchez appear to be the most pro-Israel parties while Christian Democrats CD&V and Les Engagés as well as center-left Vooruit are generally more cautious on these issues.
The meeting of the EU-Israel Association Council at the end of this month will be a test to see whether Belgium has indeed left the group of countries hostile to Israel within the EU. Initial statements by the new Foreign Minister cast doubt….