Belgium has officially announced that it will recognize the State of Palestine at the upcoming United Nations General Assembly in New York this September, marking another significant step in the growing international movement to hold the Israeli occupation accountable for its crimes in Gaza.

Foreign Minister Maxime Prévot declared the decision on Tuesday via social media, stating: “Palestine will be recognised by Belgium at the UN session! And firm sanctions are being imposed against the Israeli government.”

This announcement follows the historic declaration made by French President Emmanuel Macron in July that France would recognize Palestine during the same UN session scheduled between September 9 and 23. Since then, momentum has gathered, with more than a dozen countries moving toward recognition of the Palestinian state, a shift reflecting growing outrage over the ongoing atrocities in Gaza.

Minister Prévot emphasized that Belgium’s recognition was motivated by the humanitarian catastrophe unfolding in Gaza, where months of Israeli bombardment and siege have displaced nearly the entire population, left millions starving, and pushed the Strip into UN-declared famine conditions.

“In the face of the violence perpetrated by Israel in violation of international law, given its international obligations, including the duty to prevent any risk of genocide, Belgium had to take strong decisions to increase pressure on the Israeli government and Hamas terrorists,” Prévot wrote, stressing that sanctions were being introduced to intensify political and economic pressure on Tel Aviv.

While he claimed that the measures were not aimed at the Israeli people themselves, he made clear that Belgium’s recognition of Palestine was about forcing Israel’s government to comply with international law and humanitarian obligations.

The Belgian decision coincides with an unprecedented global consensus among experts on genocide. On September 1, the International Association of Genocide Scholars (IAGS) – the world’s foremost body of experts in the field – overwhelmingly passed a resolution declaring that Israel’s war on Gaza meets the legal definition of genocide under the 1948 UN Genocide Convention.

The resolution, supported by 86% of voting members, stated unequivocally that Israel’s deliberate targeting of civilians, destruction of homes and infrastructure, and blockade of life-sustaining aid are genocidal acts under international law.

This scholarly declaration adds weight to the ongoing International Court of Justice (ICJ) case filed by South Africa accusing Israel of genocide, a case that has already resulted in provisional measures ordering Tel Aviv to cease actions leading to mass civilian deaths.

According to the Gaza Health Ministry, the death toll since October 7, 2023, has reached 63,557 Palestinians killed and 160,660 wounded. Since March 2025 alone, at least 11,426 people have been martyred, with nearly 48,619 others injured in relentless Israeli offensives.

Entire neighborhoods have been flattened, medical facilities deliberately bombed, and humanitarian convoys blocked. Aid agencies warn that children are dying of hunger at an alarming rate, with Gaza now widely described as the epicenter of a man-made famine.

Belgium’s recognition of Palestine signals a turning point in European politics, breaking decades of silence and complicity. For Palestinians, it is seen as a moral victory in their long struggle for statehood and justice. For Israel, it represents mounting diplomatic isolation as its actions in Gaza are increasingly viewed as war crimes and crimes against humanity.

As the genocide in Gaza intensifies, Palestinians continue to call on the international community to move beyond symbolic recognition and toward concrete measures – including arms embargoes, economic sanctions, and prosecution of Israeli leaders responsible for war crimes.

Belgium’s decision is being hailed by Palestinian officials and solidarity movements worldwide as a step toward justice, but the question remains whether the world will act swiftly enough to halt the genocide before more lives are lost. (ILKHA)