Belgium slams EU’s reaction to conflict in Mideast, urges warring parties to hold talks

By Nur Asena Erturk

ANKARA (AA) – Belgium has strongly reacted to the European Union's first reaction to the ongoing armed conflict in the Middle East, calling it "shameful" and urging warring parties to sit down at the negotiating table, according to media reports.

"It is not evident to remain neutral, and things should be told as they are," Minister of Development Cooperation and Urban Policy Caroline Gennez told his country ambassadors in Brussels on Monday, Belgian daily Le Soir reported.

"Humanitarian law, law of war, and international law are all the same for everyone," she said.

Earlier on Sunday, Gennez called for an investigation by the International Criminal Court into whether the laws of war were violated in Palestine, according to the Dutch-language Belgian daily Het Laatste Nieuws, which cited his interview with VTM News.

Belgian Foreign Minister Hadja Lahbib also called on the warring parties to return to the negotiating table, saying, "The EU and Belgium have a role to play."

She noted that the other conflicts, whether in Africa or Ukraine, should not be forgotten.

Prime Minister Alexander De Croo described the situation in the Gaza Strip as "disproportionate" and also called for an end to the violence in the West Bank and stressed initiation of dialogue.

"I think that bombing an entire refugee camp with the intention of eliminating a terrorist is not proportionate," he stressed.

Israel has launched air and ground attacks on the Gaza Strip following a cross-border attack by Hamas on Oct. 7.

At least 10,022 Palestinians, including 4,104 children and 2,641 women, have been killed in Israeli bombardments in the Gaza Strip.

In the occupied West Bank and Jerusalem, Israeli forces and Jewish settlers have killed at least 160 Palestinians since the ongoing war began.

The Israeli death toll is nearly 1,600, according to official figures.