Belgium–Israel relations

Belgium–Israel relations are the bilateral relations between Belgium and Israel. Belgium voted in favor of the United Nations Partition Plan for Palestine in 1947 and recognized the State of Israel on January 15, 1950. Belgium has an embassy in Tel Aviv,^[1] and Israel has an embassy in Brussels.^[2]

In February 2010, a plaque honoring King Albert I, husband of Elizabeth of Bavaria, was unveiled at Albert Square in Tel Aviv in the presence of the Tel Aviv mayor Ron Huldai and Ambassador Bénédicte Frankinet.

State visits

King Albert visited Tel Aviv in 1933 and was hosted by Meir Dizengoff.

King Baudouin and Queen Fabiola visited Israel in 1964.^[3]

History

In 1975, Belgium voted against the UN resolution equating Zionism with racism. It helped Israel establish informal ties with Tunisia and join the Western European and Others Group at the United Nations. Many cultural, scientific and economic bilateral agreements have been signed, and a number of Belgium-Israel friendship associations have been established. The faculty club and guesthouse of Hebrew University of Jerusalem, known as Beit Belgia, was built with the financial aid of the Belgian Friends of the Hebrew University.^[3]

In 2009, Israeli exports to Belgium reached $2.37 billion, while imports from Belgium totalled $2.56 billion. In 2010, trade increased by approximately 50%.^[4]

In March 2010, Israel and Belgium signed a new tax treaty agreement to improve the competitiveness of Israeli companies operating in Belgium and encourage Belgian investment in Israel.^[5]

In October 2023, during the Israel-Hamas war, Belgian Prime Minister Alexander De Croo strongly condemned the atrocities committed by Hamas, and supported Israel's right to defend itself, but later deemed the destruction of Gaza "unacceptable", and called on Israel to respect international humanitarian law during its military operations. Following a meeting with Egyptian President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi in November, De Croo held a joint press conference at the Rafah border crossing along with Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez.^[6] During the conference, both European leaders said in a joint statement that the "indiscriminate killings of innocent civilians" in Gaza are "completely unacceptable."^[7] In a joint statement, they emphasized that the time had come for the international community and the European Union (EU) to once and for all recognize a Palestinian State and called for a permanent ceasefire in the war-battered territory.^[6] Israel lashed out at the two prime ministers "for not placing full responsibility for the crimes against humanity committed by Hamas, who massacred our citizens and used the Palestinians as human shields."^[8]^[9] Israeli Foreign Minister Eli Cohen instructed the countries' ambassadors to be summoned for a sharp reprimand, saying "We condemn the false claims of the prime ministers of Spain and Belgium who give support to terrorism."^[9] Belgium, along with Spain, Canada, the Netherlands and Japan, have all announced that they will stop sending weapons to Israel.^[10]