Belgian Official Calls for Sanctions Against Israel

Belgian Deputy Prime Minister Petra De Sutter called on the government today, Wednesday, to "impose sanctions on Israel and investigate the bombings of hospitals and refugee camps in the Gaza Strip." She said to the newspaper "Nieuwsblad": "It's time to impose sanctions on Israel, dropping bombs like rain is inhumane... It is clear that Israel does not care about international demands for a ceasefire." De Sutter mentioned that "the European Union should immediately suspend its partnership agreement with Israel, which aims to improve economic and political cooperation." She also affirmed that a "ban on importing products from the occupied Palestinian territories should be enforced and that violent settlers, politicians, and soldiers responsible for war crimes should be prevented from entering the European Union." At the same time, she pointed out that "Belgium should increase funding for the International Criminal Court in The Hague to investigate the bombings while cutting off the flow of funds to Hamas."