The King of the Belgians has spoken out on Gaza as he addressed his country to marks its National Day.
King Philippe said, in his annual speech, that the situation in Gaza was ”a disgrace to all humanity” and said ”we support the UN Secretary General’s call for an immediate end to this unsustainable crisis.”
The Belgian king said he had been profoundly affected by a meeting he had had with two fathers involved in the crisis engulfing the Middle East. He spent time with a Palestinian man and an Israeli man who had both lost children in the conflict and said he was overwhelmed by what they told him. King Philippe added ”They have renounced any spirit of revenge and chosen to take forward a message of peace. A peace that would help them in their suffering. These fathers remind us that…what is always at stake is human dignity.”
It’s one of the hardest hitting royal comments on the Middle East crisis since this conflict began in October 2023.
The King of the Belgians also highlighted the need for strong leadership to bring about peace, noting that ”the world is experiencing an upsurge in conflicts, which we thought belonged to a bygone era….” and he turned to bigger coalitions as a solution, saying ”Europe continues to choose cooperation and not confrontation.”
There was a focus, too, on a difficult situation much closer to home as Belgium waits for a fully formed government to take shape. King Philippe said ”it is urgent that a new government finally gets to work”.
King Philippe always addresses Belgium for National Day which falls on July 21. The date is also the anniversary of his reign – he became King of the Belgians on July 21 2013 on the abdication of his father, King Albert II.
