Belgium Moves Toward Recognising Palestine After Hamas Dissolves Gaza Governing Body

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Belgian Foreign Minister Maxime Prévot said Monday that he has instructed his Cabinet to move toward a decision on recognizing Palestinian statehood.

The move comes after the militant group Hamas announced earlier in the day that it would dissolve the body that has governed Gaza for the best part of 20 years. Hamas stepping away from power is one of Prévot’s prerequisites for Belgian recognition of Palestine.

Speaking to VRT , Prévot said: “I don’t know if we will be ready by Friday,” referring to a ministerial council scheduled to take place, “but it will be on the table soon.”

European support for recognizing Palestinian statehood has grown in recent years due to Israel’s war in Gaza, which it launched in response to an attack by Hamas on Oct. 7, 2023. The Hamas attack killed about 1,200 people in Israel, a large majority of whom were civilians, and took 251 hostages.

The health ministry in Gaza, which was under the Hamas-run government, said that more than 73,000 Palestinians have been killed by the Israeli military since the beginning of the war, according to the latest figures; United Nations agencies and independent experts consider the ministry’s casualty records to be generally reliable.

Meanwhile, increased violence and expansion by Israeli settlers in the occupied West Bank, diplomatic incidents with European nations , election interference , Israeli military campaigns against nearby countries and aggressive rhetoric by Israeli politicians have also soured relations with Europe.

French President Emmanuel Macron led an effort which saw France, the U.K., Canada and Australia recognize Palestinian statehood in 2025. The move drew condemnation from the U.S. and Israel.

Spain, Ireland and Norway all recognized Palestinian statehood in 2024 , as the death toll of Israel’s war on Gaza grew.

While Hamas moving away from its role in Gaza’s governance was cautiously welcomed by observers such as the U.N., the issue of its disarmament remains unanswered, as does what impact this announcement will have on the ground.