Prime Minister Bart De Wever has said it would be "advisable" for Belgium to wait before recognising Palestine as an independent state.
Speaking in parliament on Wednesday, De Wever recalled that Belgium had agreed in principle last September to recognise Palestine, but only under strict conditions. These included the release of all hostages by Hamas and the group's no longer being part of the administration of Gaza.
While the body of the last hostage was recently recovered, and US President Donald Trump has set up a Peace Council to oversee Gaza, De Wever said he shared the European Union's "serious doubts" about the initiative.
"I can't imagine anyone here, in the majority or the opposition, saying this Peace Council is reassuring," he said, adding that figures such as Vladimir Putin and Alexander Lukashenko could hardly be described as "men of peace".
De Wever said there was little support across Europe for the proposed mechanism and argued that Belgium should wait to see how the situation develops on the ground. "If we see things moving in the right direction, it makes sense to gradually reward positive developments," he said.
