The official seat of Belgium's Federal Government at Rue de la Loi 16 was lit up with a striking message on Tuesday evening. "Arrest war criminals" was projected in bold letters on the façade of the office of Prime Minister Bart De Wever (N-VA).
The projection was organised by 11.11.11, a Belgian NGO for international solidarity, in response to recent controversial comments made by De Wever. In a television interview, he stated that Belgium "would probably not" execute the International Criminal Court's (ICC) arrest warrant against Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.
"When the Prime Minister publicly casts doubt on the enforcement of an ICC arrest warrant, it undermines the international rules-based order," said Willem Staes, Middle East expert at 11.11.11.
The organisation stressed that such statements signal a dangerous disregard for international justice. "International law is not a menu from which you can pick and choose. Whether it concerns Vladimir Putin or Benjamin Netanyahu: war criminals must be prosecuted."
'Deeply flawed logic'
In November, ICC judges said there were "reasonable grounds" that Netanyahu bore "criminal responsibility" for alleged war crimes and crimes against humanity during the war between Israel and Hamas.
However, De Wever said he would likely not be detained if he were on Belgian soil. "There is also realpolitik. I think no European Member State would arrest Netanyahu if he were on their territory," he told VRT.
When questioned about his statements in Parliament, De Wever suggested that Netanyahu, as the leader of a country not party to the Rome Statute (the treaty that established the ICC), would be immune from prosecution. He also said it would be "unprecedented" for one democracy to arrest the leader of another.
However, the NGO called this logic "deeply flawed." The Rome Statute, which underpins the ICC and to which Belgium is a party, explicitly rejects immunity for sitting heads of state. "By that flawed logic, the ICC warrant for Russian President Putin should also not be implemented. And nowhere in the Rome Statute is it said that 'democracies' are above the law."

Prime Minister Bart De Wever pictured during a plenary session of the Chamber at the Federal Parliament in Brussels, 10 April 2025. Credit: Belga
Meanwhile, the situation in Gaza continues to deteriorate rapidly. On 31 March, a mass grave containing the bodies of 16 aid workers was uncovered. Shortly after, Israel announced that Rafah – a city where nearly a fifth of Gaza's population is sheltering – would be added to a new military buffer zone. Plans for a new "security corridor" were also revealed.
The UN Human Rights Office has warned that Israel "appears to be imposing conditions on the people in Gaza that increasingly seem incompatible with their survival as a group in Gaza."
With this protest action, 11.11.11 calls on governments, political parties and individual lawmakers to recognise the full extent of the crimes committed in Gaza and take concrete action accordingly. "What remains of Gaza is being destroyed before our eyes," said Staes.
"We expect an unequivocal commitment to enforce the ICC arrest warrant against Netanyahu and to take additional measures to break the cycle of impunity."
The Brussels Times has contacted the Prime Minister's office for comment.