Brussels – Belgium’s deputy prime minister called on the Belgian government on Wednesday to adopt sanctions against Israel and investigate the bombings of hospitals and refugee camps in Gaza.
“It is time for sanctions against Israel. The rain of bombs is inhumane,” deputy prime minister Petra De Sutter told Nieuwsblad newspaper. “It is clear that Israel does not care about the international demands for a ceasefire,” she said.
“It’s time for sanctions against Israel,” De Sutter wrote on X (formerly Twitter) on Wednesday morning. “The rain of bombs is inhumane. While war crimes are being committed in Gaza, Israel is ignoring international demands for a ceasefire. I am calling on the Federal Government to sanction Israel.”
In an accompanying press release, De Sutter also called on the EU to suspend its Association Agreement with Israel and endorsed an import ban for goods produced in “illegal settlements” in the Occupied Territories.
The Minister also vehemently condemned Hamas, the armed group which controls the Gaza Strip, and demanded that it release the more than 200 hostages it seized during its bloody incursion into Israel on 7 October.
“[Hamas] is a terrorist organisation,” De Sutter said. “Terrorism costs money and there must be sanctions on the companies and people who provide Hamas with money. We must also continue to reiterate that they must release the hostages.”
