EU commissioner Hadja Lahbib calls for rapid recognition of Palestine
EU commissioner for Crisis Management Hadja Lahbib has renewed her call for a two-state solution in the Middle East, stressing that Palestine should be recognised before there will be "a posthumous recognition.” She made the remarks in an interview with Terzake on Wednesday evening.
Her comments stand in contrast to the position of her party, MR, whose president Georges-Louis Bouchez has been reluctant to impose measures against Israel. His stance contributed to the federal government’s protracted negotiations over a common position on Gaza.
Lahbib dismissed questions about Bouchez and the Belgian political debate, saying she did not want to engage in “childish polemics.” “It is not appropriate to turn this conflict into political expediency. It is extremely serious what is happening there,” she said.
The commissioner expressed hope that work on a two-state solution can begin soon and not remain “just a slogan.” Lahbib added that she is closely involved in EU-level discussions on the issue. While leaving the legal classification of “genocide” to international courts, she insisted it is clear that serious human rights violations are taking place.
European inaction
Her stance also goes further than that of the European Commission itself. The EU has so far failed to reach a consensus on the matter. In her State of the Union address on Wednesday, Commission president Ursula von der Leyen proposed suspending a trade agreement and imposing sanctions on extremist Israeli ministers, but did not mention recognition of a Palestinian state. Those measures also still require approval from EU member states and the European Parliament.
Lahbib has long advocated a stronger European stance on Palestine. As Belgium’s foreign minister in the previous government, she pushed for EU entry bans on extremist Israeli settlers and supported steps toward recognition of Palestine. In early 2023, months before the conflict escalated, she backed a UN resolution asking the International Court of Justice to examine the legality of Israel’s occupation of Palestinian territories.
PHOTO © Attila KISBENEDEK / AFP
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