Belgium's Deputy Prime Minister Petra De Sutter wrote a post on X on Wednesday where she described the explosions of pagers belonging to Hezbollah terrorists as a "terror attack" - a statement that drew condemnations on the social media platform against the European official.
Sutter also said in her tweet that the event requires an "international investigation" and that it was a "brutal escalation of violence."
She says that "silence is not an option" regarding the attack.
I strongly condemn the massive terror attack in Lebanon and Syria, which injured thousands of people. A brutal escalation of violence.Silence is not an option. An international investigation is called for. The bloodshed must end.
— Petra De Sutter (@pdsutter) September 18, 2024
National Security and Foreign Policy researcher Khaled Hassan wrote in response saying "NOT A SINGLE TWEET condemning Hamas, Hezbollah or the Houthis, and NOW THIS???!!!! With people like you in power in Europe, we don't even need enemies. Might as well invite Hamas to Europe and beg them to rape and murder all of us."
European Jewish Association Chairman, Rabbi Menachem Margolin, responded by saying, "You are condemning an alleged attack against terrorists? You do know Hezbollah is a recognized terror organization? You need to learn who you are caring for; luckily, there is something called Google that you can use to educate yourself about who Hezbollah is."
Anti-Israel bias found in Belgian schools
Sutter's statements came shortly after a Belgian NGO called the Brussels-based International Movement for Peace and Coexistence (IMPAC) found that there are anti-Israel bias and antisemitism within the manner of presenting the Israeli-Palestinian conflict in the country's schools.
The report illustrated how educational materials typically place all or most responsibility for resolving the conflict on Israel and little or none on Palestinians or their leadership.
Ohad Merlin contributed to this report.