MR President Georges-Louis Bouchez confirms it: "The path of reason has prevailed. Palestine will only be legally recognised by Belgium once the hostages are released and Hamas is completely removed from power. A reward for terrorism would not have been acceptable or reasonable. The conditions are clearly met. Any economic sanctions will only be taken at European level: an essential condition for them to be effective. Finally, Belgium will call for the deployment of a UN interposition force to protect civilians. The priority must remain the humanitarian situation and peace."
The government's position
At the core cabinet meeting on 1 September 2025, Belgium adopted a clear position on the ongoing crisis in the Middle East. Committed to a two-state solution and respect for international law, the federal government is setting strict conditions for the official recognition of Palestine.
This recognition will only take effect once the hostages have been fully released and Hamas has withdrawn from the Palestinian government.
Furthermore, Belgium refuses any measure that could reward terrorism.
On the economic front, the Arizona government insists that sanctions be discussed and implemented exclusively at European level to ensure their effectiveness.
The government also shows a strong willingness to support a UN interposition mission to guarantee the protection of civilians.
The most urgent priority remains the humanitarian situation, with an acceleration of Belgian efforts to provide aid to Gaza and medical evacuations.
Clarifications- Stepping up humanitarian aid: Belgium will intensify its efforts to provide humanitarian aid to Palestinians through all possible means.
- Continuation and strengthening of medical evacuations of vulnerable children
- National sanctions against violent settlers and Hamas officials: Belgium will immediately declare these violent settlers and Hamas terrorists from the European list as personae non gratae on Belgian territory.
- Declaration of persona non grata: Belgium declares extremist ministers Itamar Ben-Gvir and Bezalel Smotrich, as well as Hamas' political and military leaders, personae non gratae on its territory. Belgium will advocate for the suspension of visa issuance to these individuals and those mentioned in the previous point.
- Registration in the Schengen Information System and exclusion from the territory: all persons subject to individual sanctions, namely violent Jewish settlers, Hamas officials, as well as certain Israeli or Hamas leaders, will be registered by the Immigration Office in the Schengen Information System (SIS). This registration means that these individuals are officially declared undesirable ("personae non gratae") and banned from entering Belgian territory, due to a threat to public order, national security, or serious violations of international law.
- Strengthening the Belgian embargo on arms and dual-use goods: the federal government supports extending the existing ban on the export, transit and sale of weapons or equipment that could have military use. This extension covers not only equipment explicitly intended for the Israeli army, but also all equipment, including dual-use goods (civilian and military), whose end user could be the Israeli state or army. Belgium is calling for a joint decision with the federated entities and advocates the establishment of a coordinated embargo at European level.
- National import ban on settlement products: Following the opinion of the International Court of Justice, the Belgian ministers for Economy, Finance and Foreign Affairs are preparing a royal decree that will establish a national ban on all goods produced, extracted or processed in the territories occupied by Israel, i.e. the settlements.
- Consular restriction: limiting access to consular services for Belgians living in the settlements to only the emergency assistance provided by law.
- Refusal of Israeli military overflights: For as long as the conflict continues, requests from Israeli authorities for military flights will be refused.
- Reducing military dependencies on Israel: ensuring that future purchases of equipment, spare parts and maintenance contracts are no longer made with Israeli companies, along with a comprehensive review of all Belgian public contracts in Israel.
- Increased vigilance against antisemitism and extremism: Belgian services are stepping up their cooperation, risk assessments are systematically shared, and monitoring of antisemitic incidents and glorification of terrorism by Hamas supporters must be strengthened.