Belgium says violence against Palestinians ‘unacceptable,’ urges halt to settlement policy

Foreign Minister Maxime Prevot said on the US social media company X that a temporary ceasefire between the United States and Iran, along with reports that Israel has agreed to open negotiations with Lebanon toward a cessation of hostilities, is “good news” for the Middle East.

However, he voiced concern over recent Israeli decisions, including the announcement of 34 new settlements in the occupied West Bank and what he described as steps undermining the status quo at Jerusalem’s holy sites.

"I am horrified to see Palestinians injured or killed by settler gangs. This is unacceptable. I call on the Israeli authorities to end their settlement policy, in clear violation of international law, and to end this violence and bring those responsible to justice," he wrote.

Prevot reaffirmed support for the Hashemite custodianship over holy sites in Jerusalem, stressing that the existing status quo must be respected.

Illegal settlement expansion in the occupied West Bank, including East Jerusalem, has accelerated since Netanyahu’s government took office in late 2022.

The international community and the United Nations consider the West Bank, including East Jerusalem, occupied Palestinian territory and regard Israeli settlement activity there as illegal under international law.

About 750,000 Israeli occupiers live in 141 settlements and 224 outposts across the West Bank, including 250,000 in 15 settlements in East Jerusalem.

In recent years, Israeli forces and occupiers have intensified operations across the West Bank, including East Jerusalem, involving arrests, killings, property destruction, and the displacement of Palestinians, alongside continued settlement expansion.