Belgium refuses to renew passport for citizen living in Jerusalem ‘settlement’

Dual citizen living in Jerusalem denied new passport by Belgian government after Brussels recognizes unilateral Palestinian statehood, labels most of Jerusalem “Palestinian territory.”

By World Israel News Staff

Belgium has refused to renew the passport of a Belgian-Israeli woman living in Jerusalem’s Pisgat Ze’ev neighborhood, citing her residence beyond the Green Line in an area Brussels does not recognize as part of Israel.

Annabel Herziger-Tanzer, who immigrated to Israel from Belgium in 1980, said the Belgian Consulate General in Jerusalem rejected her request after determining that her address could not be listed in its consular records.

Pisgat Ze’ev is within Jerusalem’s municipal boundaries but lies beyond the 1949 armistice line and is widely considered by most of the international community to be a settlement.

“After reviewing our population registry records, we found that you reside in a settlement that is not recognized under international law, to which Belgium is committed,” the consulate wrote, according to the report.

“Therefore, it was not possible to register you at this address in the population registry of the Belgian consulate in Jerusalem.”

Herziger-Tanzer, the daughter of Auschwitz survivor Sam Herziger, said the decision left her shaken.

“The feeling was simply like being slapped in the face,” she told Channel 12.

“I’ve been living in Pisgat Ze’ev for more than 20 years… suddenly, this emotional homeland is rejecting me. And for what? Not because, God forbid, I committed a crime, but because I live in Jerusalem.”

“I felt as if they had spat in my face, as if I were a second-class person,” she said, according to a report by Ynet.

“I am a member of the Israel-Belgium Friendship Association, but I am no longer proud to be Belgian.” She said the case was especially painful as the daughter of Holocaust survivors.

The move appears to be part of a broader Belgian policy adopted last year. In a September 2025 government document on Palestinian sovereignty, Belgium instructed its foreign minister to limit consular services for Belgian citizens living in settlements “to the emergency assistance provided for by law.”

The same package included measures against Israeli settlement products, restrictions on military cooperation, and designating ministers Itamar Ben-Gvir and Bezalel Smotrich persona non grata in Belgium.

Belgium also said it would recognize a Palestinian state, but only formalize the move once the last hostage held by Hamas is released and Hamas and other terrorist organizations are removed from Palestinian governance.

Israel’s Foreign Ministry condemned the passport refusal, saying it viewed the denial of services “with great severity.” The ministry called the Belgian decision “disgraceful and hypocritical” and said it “in practice discriminates between citizens on the basis of their place of residence.”

The ministry said Foreign Minister Gideon Sa’ar and Israeli diplomats had protested to Belgian authorities, and that Israel had taken reciprocal consular measures. It also said Belgian-Israeli citizens had petitioned an administrative court in Belgium, arguing that the policy is unconstitutional.

The case comes amid worsening relations between Israel and Belgium over the war in Gaza, Israeli settlement policy and Belgium’s moves toward Palestinian state recognition.

Reuters reported in September that Belgium’s package included settlement-related sanctions and pressure on Israel over what Belgian officials described as violations of international law, while Israel accused countries recognizing Palestine of rewarding Hamas.