Netanyahu: The Belgian prime minister is feeding the terrorist crocodile

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has sharply criticized Belgian Prime Minister Bart De Wever after Brussels announced it would recognize Palestine as an independent state. He called him a “weak leader who is trying to appease Islamist terrorism at Israel's expense.”

On Platform X, his office wrote that De Wever was “feeding a terrorist crocodile that will ultimately devour Belgium.” Netanyahu expressed similar outrage toward Australian Prime Minister Albanese after Canberra took the same step and simultaneously banned a right-wing Israeli lawmaker from entering the country.

According to the Israeli government, recognition of the Palestinian state does not change the reality in the Middle East and is seen as a reward for the Hamas attack on October 7, 2023.

Belgium's move is part of a broader international initiative that France, Britain, Canada, and Australia have also joined.

(reuters, mja)