Belgium considers becoming latest EU country to recognise Palestinian statehood
The Belgian Foreign Minister Maxime Prevot said on Monday that he has instructed his cabinet to prepare for the recognition of the state of Palestine.
Speaking to VRT, he said “I don’t know if we will be ready by Friday”, referring to the scheduled ministerial council meeting, “but it will be on the table soon.”
The move comes after Hamas announced that it would dissolve its administration of Gaza after nearly two decades of running the Strip, which was one of Prevot’s prerequisites for recognising Palestine.
Monday's announcement clears the way for governmental transition to the National Committee for the Administration of Gaza (NCAG), a committee comprised of Palestinian technocrats from Gaza based in Cairo.
The administration is intended to govern daily affairs in the enclave as part of the ceasefire deal brokered by the US, Qatar and Egypt in September.
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Last year, Prime Minister Bart De Wever announced at the United Nations headquarters in New York that Belgium would recognise Palestine under certain conditions, including the release of all hostages and the removal of Hamas from Gaza’s administration.
“We reached an agreement with the federal government last summer, after a long struggle,” said one MP on Monday, whose party had pushed for the Belgium government to make this move, saying “Belgium must not break its word.”
Belgium would become the latest of several European countries that have moved to recognise Palestine in recent years since the start of Israel’s genocide on the Palestinian enclave in October 2023, which has killed over 73,000 Palestinians, with thousands more missing or presumed dead under the rubble.
Spain, Ireland and Norway all formally recognised a Palestinian state in 2024 to join over 140 United Nations member states.
The UK, Canada and Australia officially announced their recognition of Palestinian statehood in September 2025, and was followed immediately by France and Portugal, in a move that was condemned by the US and Israel.
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