Remarks made by Georges-Louis Bouchez, president of the MR party, regarding the recent pager attack in Lebanon sparked heated debate in the Belgian Parliament on Thursday.
Questions to Foreign Minister Hadja Lahbib (MR) about the Middle East escalated into a verbal slanging contest, requiring Assembly President Peter De Roover to repeatedly intervene to restore order.
In an interview with Radio Judaïca, Bouchez dubbed the attack a "stroke of genius". The attack targeted several thousand Hezbollah members and was attributed to Israeli forces. But civilians, among them two children, were also among the victims.
MPs Rajae Maouane (Ecolo-Groen), Christophe Lacroix (PS), and Peter Mertens (PTB) expressed outrage at Bouchez’s comments, demanding answers despite their questions being about the situation in Lebanon. Bouchez attempted multiple times to reply, interrupting his critics from his seat before eventually heading towards the President’s podium, followed by Green Party leader Stefaan Van Hecke.
Lahbib expressed deep concern about the escalating crisis, highlighting the plight of hundreds of thousands of displaced Palestinians, Lebanese, and Israelis. She emphasised the need to uphold international law, including humanitarian law, and conveyed Belgium’s steadfast support for UN resolutions calling for peace since 7 October.
À #LaChambre, @GLBouchez importe le chaos, le bazar, le chambard-coup-de-génie, le tohu-bohu, le boxon qu'il a l'habitude de créer au Conseil Communal de Mons. Interrompant sans cesse et successivement @RajaeMaouane, @LacroixCh et @peter_mertens, ce moment vidéo où, contre… pic.twitter.com/PlhOlxb45P
— michel henrion (@michelhenrion) September 26, 2024
“You must stick to discussing the Middle East situation,” Lahbib cautioned, expressing frustration over turning the debate into a pre-election spectacle. In a social media video, Bouchez reiterated his party’s condemnation of all civilian deaths, further fuelling the heated discourse amid the upcoming 9 June elections, particularly in Brussels.
Mertens labelled the attack by Israeli secret services “an act of terrorism” while Rajae Maouane demanded an unequivocal condemnation from Minister Lahbib, criticising Bouchez’s comments as lacking moral compass. Christophe Lacroix echoed this sentiment, condemning Bouchez’s depiction as a violation of international law.
Within the MR party itself, Bouchez’s remarks caused internal friction, with the young MR members in Evere distancing themselves from their party president.
