Belgium’s prime minister stresses urgent need for peace discussions in Mideast

By Nur Asena Erturk

Belgium’s prime minister Monday stressed the urgent need for peace discussions in the Middle East.

“Yesterday (Sunday), a so-called ‘safe zone’ outside Rafah was bombed by Israel, killing tens of women and children. We urgently need partners ready to sit around the table to discuss peace,” Alexander De Croo wrote on X, sharing a photo of his meeting with his Palestinian counterpart Mohammad Mustafa and Belgium’s Foreign Minister Hadja Lahbib.

Lahbib, for her part, wrote separately on X: “The Palestinian Authority is a partner for peace.”

She vowed Belgium’s commitment to “contribute to reforms.”

“I have conveyed to the Prime Minister our commitment to a two-state solution. Belgium is working for a recognition with rights and freedoms for Palestinians,” she stressed.

Israel has killed nearly 36,000 Palestinians in the Gaza Strip since a cross-border attack by Hamas on Oct. 7 last year, which killed around 1,200 people.

The military campaign has turned much of the enclave of 2.3 million people into ruins, leaving most civilians homeless and at risk of famine.

Israeli forces targeted a camp for displaced people and houses in the southern Gaza city of Rafah on Sunday, where at least 35 people were killed. The attack comes despite a ruling by the International Court of Justice that ordered Israel to halt its offensive in Rafah, where over a million Palestinians had sought refuge from the war before it was invaded on May 6.

Spain, Norway, and Ireland announced they will recognize Palestinian statehood on May 28.