A storm has gathered over the Belgian Parliament for refusing to show a graphic video of the Hamas attack on 7 October, put together by the Israeli Government, due to a lack of consensus between MPs.
Unlike some neighbouring countries, the Belgian Parliament turned down an invitation by the Israeli Embassy on Tuesday to set up a screening of graphic videos of the Hamas terror attack on 7 October, which killed around 1,200 people. It was the worst attack in Israel's history.
After being proposed to MPs in the Chamber of Representatives, elected representatives could not find a consensus on whether to show the video.
Whilst MR, Les Engagés and N-VA were in favour of the screening, strong opposition came from the French-speaking Socialist Party (PS) – who argued it would be fairer to also show a reciprocal video on the violence against Palestinians. This stance was backed by the Belgian Green Parties (Ecolo/Groen) and the Belgian Worker’s Party (PTB/PVDA).
In response, Israeli Foreign Minister Eli Cohen has strongly criticised the Belgian Parliament President, Eliane Tillieux, and insisted the video was not being shown for propaganda purposes.
"This is not a propaganda video, rather it is a film created from footage shot by the terrorists themselves that shows their indiscriminate slaughter of Israeli civilians." Cohen also accused Tilieux "of turning a blind eye to the war crimes and crimes against humanity committed by Hamas."
A view of the damage caused by a rocket attack from Gaza. Credit: Belga
Put together from a collection of Go-Pro videos, surveillance cameras and mobile phone footage, the video is so graphic that Israel has decided not to make it public out of respect for the families of victims.
It has already been shown to Belgian journalists at the Israeli Embassy in Brussels, although various organisations reportedly chose to turn down the invitation.
The ethical debate on the screening is divisive, with some feeling that the Israeli-organised screenings are being used to justify to allies the ground invasion of Gaza, which has killed thousands of people, including over 4,000 children. On the Israeli side, the video proves the scale of the atrocities of the Hamas terror attack and therefore, Israel’s right to defend itself.
House of divides
Critics of the decision are whipping up a political storm. Georges Dallemagne of Les Engagés has accused the Belgian Parliament of "turning a blind eye" whilst George-Louis Bouchez – the leader of French-speaking centrists MR – is leading calls for it to be shown in Belgium’s second chamber, the Senate.
Bouchez has called the Belgian Chamber of Representatives’ refusal "scandalous", arguing that the screening would provide "balance" to the many graphic videos posted on social media of the violence in Gaza. He also stated that the video was shown in the French Parliament, which France24 reported as having had some MPs in tears.
Plenary session of the Chamber at the Federal Parliament in Brussels. Credit: Belga / Virginie Lefour
But those supporting the decision not to screen the footage maintain that there has been ample evidence of the attacks on 7 October. Leading RTBF columnist Bertrand Henne argues that although some politicians have struggled to define the attack as “terrorism”, no Belgian MPs have denied that a massacre took place on 7 October.
Belgium’s refusal once again makes it an outlier in the European Union on the issue. Breaking ranks with Spain and Ireland, the Belgian Government was praised by Human Rights Watch on Thursday for "sending a strong message" on Gaza and leading calls to achieve peace through a diplomatic and political solution.
The American human rights NGO stressed that, amid a lack of a common position in the EU, "the Belgian Government has shown that it is possible for individual EU governments to stick to principles and not hide behind a lack of consensus at the EU level" in demanding an immediate ceasefire.
