Statement by Mr Bart De Wever, Prime Minister of Belgium, delivered at the Two State Solution Conference

*** This statement was delivered in New York on September 22, 2025 in English at the Two State Solution Conference. Only the spoken word matters ***

Secretary General, Excellencies, Distinguished Delegates, Ladies and Gentlemen,

Allow me to firstly thank President Macron and Crown Prince bin Salman for their efforts and leadership in organizing this conference.

Belgium has always defended a two-state solution and is today reaffirming once again this position by having joined the co-signatories of the New York Declaration. Only this solution will allow Israelis and Palestinians to live side by side in peace and security.

To support this aspiration, since the Oslo agreements Belgium has provided bilateral funding and technical assistance to the Palestinians, for a total amount of around 600 million Euros. We also remain committed to meeting the acute humanitarian needs in Gaza. We have recently air-dropped over 190 tons of humanitarian supplies, to address the most acute needs. The Belgian government has recently decided to add another 12 and a half million Euro to our humanitarian budget for Gaza, in addition to what has already been disbursed. Full and free access to Gaza for providing massive humanitarian aid is an urgent need as the famine has been officially recognised by the UN.

Ladies and Gentlemen,

The resumption of settlement activities in the West Bank, particularly the E1 project, the military operation aimed at the full occupation of Gaza, as well as the indescribable humanitarian crisis, all raise fears today that - in the absence of an international response confirming the need to keep the prospect of a Palestinian state alive - peaceful and sustainable co-existence in two states may no longer be possible.

The recent declarations of a number of Israeli ministers, including the Prime minister himself, that 'no State of Palestine will ever exist' is an additional reason for reaffirming the right and the need of the Palestinians having their own State.

Therefore, Belgium is giving out a strong political and diplomatic signal to the world today, by joining the group of countries that announces the recognition of the State of Palestine in the margins of the high-level week of the United Nations General Assembly. We are thus joining the initiative of France and the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, as advocated in a resolution adopted by the Belgian Parliament.

Through this initiative, we continue to support international law, particularly the right to self-determination of people. Let me be clear, however: this step cannot be a reward for Hamas. Conscious of the trauma suffered after the Hamas terrorist attacks on October 7^th, 2023, Belgium will only proceed to the legal recognition of the State of Palestine, once all hostages have been released and all terrorist organisations, such as Hamas, have been removed from the governance of Palestine.

The effective conduct of diplomatic relations with the new State of Palestine -including the opening of a Belgian embassy and the conclusion of international agreements- will be carried out once the objectives of the New York Declaration have been achieved, notably the full demilitarisation of Hamas, and subsequent to the renewal of governance based on presidential and parliamentary elections, giving Palestine a strengthened and renewed Authority. All these steps are intended to guarantee the security of both the Israeli and Palestinian populations.

At the same time, we also strongly call for the recognition of the State of Israel by all Arab countries.

Let us be clear: the two-state solution is not dead. It is bruised, yes - but it can be revived. And it must be, for the sake of both peoples.

Thank you.