Brussels: Europe and the Arabs
The Flemish National Alliance (NFA), the coalition government party in Belgium, announced its support for French President Emmanuel Macron's plan to recognize Palestine as a state. This was stated by the president of the NVA, Valerie Van Peel, on the program "De Ochtend" on Belgian Radio 1. With this, the NVA now also takes a clear position on the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, a sensitive issue within the federal government for some time. Van Peel reported that the plan will soon be discussed at the cabinet table. Local media in Brussels reported these statements following statements by Belgian Prime Minister Bart De Wever, who belongs to the same party, in which he said that the images coming from the Palestinian Gaza Strip "are not visible to anyone." De Wever's comments came Tuesday evening during a joint press conference with Dutch Prime Minister Dick Schoff in The Hague. But he added, "There is currently no consensus within the federal government regarding the possible recognition of a Palestinian state."
De Wever traveled to The Hague on Tuesday evening for his first official bilateral meeting with Dick Schoof. The Belgian Prime Minister said at a press conference that the two leaders discussed, among other things, "what we can do together in the world." This includes continued support for Ukraine in the war with Russia, but there is also a "constructive dialogue" between the Netherlands and Belgium regarding the situation in the Palestinian Gaza Strip.
This includes French President Emmanuel Macron's plan to recognize a Palestinian state on the sidelines of a UN conference next June. De Wever noted that parties in the government coalition are increasing pressure within the federal government to move forward with this, but there is no consensus yet. "We are following this matter with great interest, but we will have to make this decision within the government." Schoof said that the Dutch government is also "looking into" Macron's plan.
De Wever added that in any case, the situation in the Gaza Strip is "unbearable for anyone." "The only possible humanitarian response to these images is that this must be done." "It stops." According to the Prime Minister, "Europe is considering initiatives to bring both sides back on the right track with regard to international law, and is sending those signals," but this task is not easy.