Israel accuses Belgium of whitewashing Palestinian terrorism

Israel's Foreign Minister, Gideon Sa’ar, criticized Belgian Foreign Minister, Maxime Prévot, for his support of the Palestinian Authority (PA), stating that this position "serves only the interests of terrorists, not dialogue or peace".

Sa’ar recalled that the PA has never ceased its policy of funding those responsible for attacks and the families of those who murder Israelis, in addition to systematically promoting incitement to hatred against the Jewish state.

"Supporting a Palestinian state under these conditions is, in practice, supporting a terrorist state, a base for more attacks and new atrocities like those of October 7," the minister warned in a message posted on X.

The statements come after Washington's decision to deny and revoke visas for PA and PLO leaders ahead of the UN General Assembly, a measure that even affected President Mahmud Abbas and 80 other senior officials.

The State Department explained that the decision seeks to hold the Palestinian leadership accountable for failing to meet international commitments and for undermining prospects for peace.

Prévot, also Deputy Prime Minister, criticized the US measure as "a blow to diplomacy", but his stance was interpreted in Jerusalem as an attempt to legitimize a leadership that, instead of moving toward peace, continues in a "legal and political war against Israel," in Sa’ar's words.

Meanwhile, from Ramallah, presidential spokesman Nabil Abu Rudeineh called on the United States to reverse the measure and announced contacts with Arab and European countries to press in that direction.

However, Washington's decision—backed by Israeli warnings—marks a hardening of the Western stance toward a Palestinian leadership that hasn't consistently condemned terrorism or ended incitement in its educational system.

France and Saudi Arabia plan to lead a conference in New York on September 22 to discuss the so-called two-state solution.

But the exclusion of Abbas and much of the Palestinian leadership from the General Assembly reflects an uncomfortable reality for Europe: the growing diplomatic isolation of the PA, accused of maintaining structural ties to terrorism instead of building a path toward peace.