Luxembourg’s prime minister announces plans for his country to formally recognize the Palestinian Authority’s unilateral claim of statehood next week, joining France, Britain, Canada and other countries.

By World Israel News Staff

Luxembourg will recognize the Palestinian Authority’s unilateral declaration of statehood at the United Nations General Assembly next week, the country’s head of government and top diplomat told lawmakers.

On Monday, Luxembourg Prime Minister Luc Frieden and Foreign Minister Xavier Bettel addressed a parliamentary commission, informing them of the government’s decision to formally recognize Palestinian statehood.

According to local media outlets, the decision still needs to be finalized before recognition is granted.

Luxembourg is expected to announce its recognition of Palestinian statehood during the United Nations General Assembly’s High-Level Week, which kicks off next Tuesday.

A number of other countries that until now have opposed unilateral steps by the Palestinian Authority signaled they will recognize Palestinian statehood at the General Assembly next week.

France, Britain, Belgium, Australia, and Canada have all indicated they will use High-Level Week as a platform for announcements on recognition.

Last Friday, the UN General Assembly voted 142-10, with 12 abstentions, to back a non-binding resolution endorsing “tangible, timebound, and irreversible steps” toward a two-state solution and the establishment of a Palestinian state.

MP Fred Keup of the right-wing Alternative Democratic Reform Party (ADR) slammed the government for its plans to recognize Palestinian statehood without reforms to the Palestinian Authority and outside the context of a final-status agreement with Israel.

“I’m surprised at the 180-degree turn that Mr. Bettel and Mr. Frieden have taken, but it’s not clear who exactly has decided it,” Keup said, according to RTL Today.

“I think suddenly everything they have said in recent months no longer counts properly and we are going in a different direction. It has always been said that conditions must be met in order to grant recognition for Palestine. These have not been fulfilled. We also agree that Palestine should be recognized as a proper state, but certain conditions simply have to be met, and we are not seeing that at the moment.”

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Jean Asselborn has pushed the possibility of EU sanctions against Israel if the annexation plan moves forward.

By Lauren Marcus, World Israel News

In an interview with Israel Hayom on Wednesday, Luxembourg’s Foreign Minister Jean Asselborn, who is the longest-serving European Union Minister of Foreign Affairs, spoke out against the annexation of Judea and Samaria.

In the UN’s Foreign Affairs Council, Asselborn has consistently taken a hard-line stance against Israeli annexation, and has pushed the EU to investigate sanctions against Israel if the annexation plan moves forward.

So far, Israel’s EU allies Austria and Hungary have blocked Asselborn’s proposals from being accepted.

In his interview with Israel Hayom, Asselborn, a longtime champion of Palestinian rights, echoed the diplomatic policy adopted by Brussels.

While avoiding direct threats, he still conveyed that Israeli annexation of Judea and Samaria would hurt the Jewish state’s relationship with Europe, its main trading partner today.

Of the deal of the century plan, Asselborn told Israel Hayom, “I’m not interested in commenting on the details of the plan presented by Mr. Trump. I should mention only two things. First, this program is moving away from recognized international parameters.”

“Secondly, the Palestinian Authority was not consulted when formulating this plan. It is not possible to make a decision on the future of a people without them being represented at the negotiating table.”

Asselborn spoke out about his concerns regarding annexation, saying, “Firstly, I fear that annexation will be a fatal blow to the two-state solution. It could lead to the formation of one state, which will constitute an eternal extension of inequality of rights and conflict.”

“Secondly, I am in principle opposed to annexation, anywhere in the world, since this is a blatant violation of international law. In 2014, I objected to the illegal annexation of the Crimea by Russia. The annexation will contribute to the dismantling of the world order, based on a set of laws we built after World War II.”

When asked about possible EU consequences for annexation, like sanctions, Asselborn was less direct.

“It’s too early to talk about sanctions,” Asselborn said. “We hope there will be no annexation and we work with our full diplomatic vigor to avoid annexation of occupied Palestinian territories. We are betting on prevention.”

Although Asselborn has repeatedly emphasized that he’s a defender of Palestinian rights, he told Israel Hayom, “I am a friend of both the Palestinians and of Israel, and I believe that friends should say things clearly.”

“In this spirit, I regularly use the exchange of views with PA representatives to encourage them to organize elections so that the process of intra-Palestinian reconciliation can continue.”

A recent report by Israel’s Ministry of Strategic Affairs revealed that European Union donations to Palestinian aid organizations may be funding terrorism.

The terror cell that planned and executed Rina Shnerb’s murder was headed by a longtime employee of an EU-funded Palestinian human rights organization.

When asked about the scandal, Asselborn’s response was brief. “The EU does not support terrorist-related organizations,” he said.

Asselborn expressed optimism about beginning work with the new Israeli government, inaugurated this Sunday.

“Israel is an important member and partner of the EU as a whole and of Luxembourg in particular,” said Asselborn. “I would love to contact my new Israeli colleague, Gabi Ashkenazi, as soon as possible.”

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Belgium was expecting to rebuke Israel’s ambassador over the violence in Gaza, but she fought back instead. 

By: World Israel News Staff

Israel’s Ambassador to Belgium and Luxembourg Simona Frankel was summoned by both foreign ministries, which sought to dress her down for Monday’s violence on Israel’s southern border with Gaza, during which 62 Palestinians, mostly terrorists, were killed.

Belgium’s Foreign Minister Didier Reynders called in Frankel on Tuesday after she said that all Palestinians killed in the violence were “terrorists.”

Belgium’s Prime Minister Charles Michel called for an international inquiry into the clashes, to be led by the United Nations.

“The violence committed in the Gaza Strip yesterday is unacceptable. We call for an international inquiry led by the United Nations,” Michel said in a joint statement with Reynders. “Firing live rounds on protesters is shameful.”

During an interview with Belgian broadcaster RTBF, Frankel said that those killed were terrorists. “Look at the people who take a baby toward a fence. These are not peaceful demonstrators.”

To this, Reynders stated “to say that all the people who were killed were terrorists, that is beyond belief.”

Incidentally, a Hamas official admitted that 50 of the 62 Palestinians killed during the riots on the Gaza border were members of the Palestinian terrorist group.

“In the last rounds of confrontations, if 62 people were martyred, 50 of the martyrs were Hamas and 12 from the people [civilians]. How can Hamas reap the fruits if it pays such an expensive price?” Hamas official Salah Bardawil said in an interview with the Palestinian Baladna news outlet on Wednesday.

On Tuesday, the IDF and the Shin Bet (Israel’s Security Agency) stated that they identified 24 terrorists “with documented terror backgrounds” who were killed during the violent riots along the Gaza border.

Frankel was similarly summoned by Luxembourg for a rebuke on Wednesday.

The summons is usually supposed to serve as a diplomatic form of humiliation and rebuke, but Frankel fought back and refused to hear any criticism by the two countries.

“It appears the Belgian foreign ministry belongs to the school which holds that when an ambassador is summoned for a rebuke, he is supposed to act like a chided child and to listen with a bowed head and not respond. I responded and told the Belgians: your biased positions are not helping peace,” Frankel wrote in a report to Israel’s foreign ministry, Israel’s Ynet news reported Thursday.

After hearing Belgium’s grievances about a long list of alleged violations committed by Israel, Frankel decide to respond to the allegations and rebuked the Belgians for not knowing the facts.

“The fact that with a press of a button by Hamas all the protestors disappeared from the fence is clear proof of who brought them there.”

Responding to allegations that Israel used “disproportionate force” against the rioters, she said “I would like to hear how you define proportional?”

She concluded her response by slamming the Belgians for their biased positions. “There is no one who wants peace more than us, but Belgium’s one-sided stances usually do not contribute to peace.”

She made similar statements at the Luxembourg ministry.

Israel has had diplomatic clashes with Belgium on similar matters in the past.

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