Netanyahu criticises ‘weak’ De Wever over Belgium’s position on Palestine
Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu has called his Belgian counterpart Bart De Wever “a weak leader” following the government's decision to conditionally recognise Palestine.
“De Wever is a weak leader who seeks to appease Islamic terrorism by sacrificing Israel,” Netanyahu said in a post on X on Wednesday. “He wants to feed the terrorist crocodile before it devours Belgium. Israel will won’t [sic] go along and will continue to defend itself.”
This is not the first time Netanyahu has made such comments about foreign leaders. He previously criticised De Wever’s predecessor, Alexander De Croo, and accused Australian prime minister Anthony Albanese of "betraying" Israel when he announced his country's intention to recognise Palestine in August.
On Monday night, both the Flemish and federal governments reached agreement on their position on Gaza.
De Wever’s government agreed on a series of sanctions against Israel and conditional recognition of Palestine. The conditions include the release of all hostages being held by Hamas and the complete disarmament and dissolution of Hamas.
MP Michael Freilich, the European Jewish Association’s Special Envoy for Holocaust Education and Intercultural Dialogue and De Wever’s N-VA colleague, pointed out the “strict conditions” that Belgium applies to the recognition of Palestine, which differ from the position adopted by French president Emmanuel Macron.
In a post on X in response to Netanyahu's comments, he also pointed out that De Wever “has always been a true friend of the Jewish people and a consistent defender of Israel's right to self-defense”.
© PHOTO TOBIAS SCHWARZ / AFP
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