President of the Belgian Senate, Stephanie D'Hose, denied a proposal by Israeli Ambassador to Brussels Idit Rozenzweig Abu to screen the 47 minute video of Hamas atrocities committed on October 7 over skepticism expressed by certain party leaders. When the ambassador tried to present a condensed version of the film to the Senate's Foreign Affairs Committee, she faced unequivocal rejection, with claims that it was an Israeli propaganda effort aimed at obscuring "war crimes".
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Wouter De Vriendt, a representative of the Green Party, leveled accusations at the ambassador: "More than 4,000 children have already perished in bombings. How many more need to die before you take action?" he said. He pointed out that some political figures in Israel are discussing ethnic cleansing and genocide. "The elimination of a Hamas leader that resulted in the death of civilians is a scandal, especially for a nation like Israel. They constitute war crimes," he said. "You're targeting schools, mosques, and United Nations employees. I had anticipated that a democratic nation like Israel would maintain higher standards. I was supportive of Israel right after the October 7th attack, but I can no longer sustain that stance. The brutality needs to stop."
The Friends of Israel organization in Belgium sharply criticized the parliament speaker, stating: "It's intriguing that the parliament presidents faced no hurdle in agreeing to host a propaganda photo exhibition related to Palestinian terrorism last year. The hypocrisy of the parliament presidents is disgraceful; Their weakness enabled this affront last year, and their spineless nature disrespected the victims this year."
In a meeting in Geneva, Foreign Minister Eli Cohen and Health Minister Uriel Busso met with the President of the Red Cross, Mirjana Spoljaric, in a meeting that also included family members of Israeli hostages held by Hamas in Gaza.
Minister Cohen stated, "The Red Cross must employ all possible means to promptly visit the hostages, which include children, women, and the elderly, currently under the detention of the terrorist organization, Hamas." He continued, "The Red Cross should focus its attention on the massive humanitarian crisis that Hamas is causing in Gaza, rather than on Israel, a nation that abides by and upholds international law."
Busso then added, "Gaza is suffering greatly due to the alarming fact that Hamas terrorists are using hospitals as bases for their operations. I expect a strong condemnation from the international community on this matter - it is unacceptable for medical facilities to be exploited as shields for terrorist activities."
The ministers and representatives of the captive families met with Dr. Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, the Director General of the World Health Organization (WHO). During the meeting, they made a clear demand for the organization to expose Hamas's exploitation of hospitals in the Gaza Strip for terrorist activities.
Minister Cohen stated, "The blatant misuse of hospitals by the terrorist group Hamas represents a glaring failure of the WHO and UN organizations. The world's largest terrorist infrastructure has been established right under the noses of these organizations. This constitutes a dual war crime, with missiles and rockets being launched at the Israeli populace from the vicinity of hospitals. As of today, Hamas terrorists continue to operate within the basements of Gaza hospitals and, as per estimates, Israeli captives were taken there on October 7."