This Friday morning, Jean-Luc Crucke estimated that Belgium must organize the repatriation of Belgians who are in Lebanon. Questioned by Martin Buxant on bel RTL, the federal deputy (Les Engagés) also considered that “dialogue is the only way” to resolve the conflict in the Middle East.
Mr. Bouchez spoke of a “stroke of genius” to describe Israel’s attack against Lebanese Hezbollah via pagers. Do you share his opinion or not at all?
“No, I think it’s both excessive and, I would say, more inappropriate.”
How would you characterize this attack on Israel?
“It is not just an attack by Israel, it is also an attack on Israel with thousands of civilians who are today sacrificed, killed. These are x time bombs. This suffering that we are creating are not going to fix anything. And as I often say in this conflict, you know my origins, you can only make peace with your enemy and not with weapons. Dialogue is the only way. thousands and sometimes millions of deaths don’t help anything.”
And the answers provided in this context by the Minister of Foreign Affairs, do they reassure you for the moment?
“I believe that in the difficult context she is trying to bring a voice that is that of a small country within Europe.”
We rarely hear it…
“Yes, it’s true but at the same time I believe that there is something that could, that should be done. She repeated yesterday in parliament that there are 1,800 Belgians still residing in Lebanon. France, Great Britain and the United States have been searching for their nationals and we, all we say to them, all we say to them, is “take the boat, take the plane.” know that there are only three flights per week between Beirut and Brussels Only one company, Air Liban, which does it at prices which are becoming impossible. So, clearly we are not organizing this repatriation. way to allow our nationals to reach Belgian territory”.
Are you asking that Belgium take its responsibilities and give the possibility of evacuating nationals from Lebanon?
“I believe that a government in day-to-day affairs can precisely deal with what we call emergency. If there is no emergency there, I wonder when it is.”
Watch the interview in full:
Israel Hezbollah Lebanese Lebanon
