Belgium demands an explanation from Israel for the death of Palestinian journalist Shireen Abu Akleh

Belgium “transmitted a message to the Israeli Ministry of Foreign Affairs and asked for an explanation” concerning the death of journalist Shireen Abu Akleh, one of the best known of the Arab channel Al Jazeera, while covering an Israeli military operation in the occupied West Bank, Prime Minister Alexander De Croo told the House on Thursday.

Belgium also calls for an investigation to be opened “to have more details on how such a thing happened”. The Prime Minister (Open Vld), temporarily in charge of Foreign Affairs in the absence of Sophie Wilmès (MR), also condemned “with the greatest firmness” the attacks which affected Israel. In opposition, MP Sofie Merckx (PTB) called for sanctions once morest Israel. Alexander De Croo replied that the government agreement provided that Belgium “with partners” might take “reactive measures in the event of annexation”.

In the majority, André Flahaut (PS) described the Prime Minister’s response as “timid and timorous”. In the evening, the MP said he had sent two letters, one to the Israeli ambassador to Belgium, the other to the Palestinian ambassador. In these letters, he also mentions the refusal addressed to the Minister for Development Cooperation, Meryame Kitir, to go to the Gaza Strip. “This diplomatic incident is all the more serious as Belgium has been intervening in Gaza for a long time in key sectors such as health, governance and education.“