He made the statement during a debate in the Flemish parliament’s foreign affairs committee during a debate on the situation in Gaza.
“I don’t know who is the biggest bastard, Israel or Hamas,” declared the Prime Minister of Flanders, Matthias Diependaele, in a speech to the Flemish parliament.
“Who is the biggest bastard: the one who shoots children or the one who uses children as human shields? I don’t know. I choose the innocent victims, and I want to think about the best way to help them,” he added.
Diependaele, who heads one of Belgium’s three regions, belongs to the N-VA (New Flemish Alliance) party, a nationalist and conservative party led by Belgian Prime Minister Bart De Wever, which includes several supporters of Israel.
This statement is yet another example of a growing wave of virulent criticism of Israel even among center-right politicians in Europe.
His statement came after Diependaele refused to send New Year’s greetings to the Jewish community—a Belgian tradition dating back more than a century. His cabinet explained that this was due to “the sensitive situation in the Middle East.” After controversy erupted over the link between holiday greetings and the situation in the Middle East, Diependaele changed his justification and claimed that he “does not send greetings for religious holidays” of any religion.
Like the federal parliament week and the Walloon Parliament on Tuesday, the Flemish Parliament also held an emergency meeting of its foreign affairs committee to discuss the situation in Gaza.
During the debate, the Flemish Parliament warned against measures that would affect the Flemish economy more than Israel, such as the temporary closure of the Flanders Investment & Trade (FIT) office in Tel Aviv. FIT is the agency that helps Flemish companies do business abroad. “I want to look at measures that really make a difference and that don’t hurt us more than they hurt them,” Diependaele said.
Within the parliament majority, the Flemish Socialists (Vooruit) and Christian-Democrats (CD&V) parties inisted that measures be taken against Israel. “Every government today has a moral duty to intervene. The Flemish government must act. Words have long since ceased to be enough,” said Kris Verduyckt, the Socialist group leader.
According to Gilles Bultinck from CD&V, the temporary closure of the Tel Aviv office would send “a clear message.’’
Diependaele drew a parallel with the policy of sanctions against Russia and refrained from advocating measures “that would hurt us more than them.”
“This is a decision we will have to make within the government,” he added. The N-VA party, which is the largest in Belgium, believes that the focus should be on European sanctions. “Belgium and Flanders cannot resolve this conflict alone,” said one of its MPS’s, Karolien Grosemans.
MP Sam Van Roy, from the right-wing Vlaams Belang party, a staunch supporter of Israel, strongly criticized Diependaele’s statement: “The Flemish Alliance has completely succumbed to pressure from the left and no longer has a moral compass. He compares a free society and a democratic state, under existential threat, to a band of murderous Muslim terrorists. ”
Van Roy added: “This is why I continue to respond to the anti-Israel debate, which is constantly fueled by left-wing and traditional parties: it reveals the truth, and now we know, unfortunately, that the Flanders region is led by a prime minister who is incapable of distinguishing between right and wrong. “