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Brussels attack: Belgium must 'tighten security instead of eating chocolate and enjoying life,' says Israeli minister

'If they continue to appear as great democrats and liberals, and not decided that some Muslims in their country are organising terror, they won’t be able to fight them'

Siobhan Fenton,Serina Sandhu
Wednesday 23 March 2016 17:05 GMT
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Belgium must improve its security instead of just “eating chocolate and enjoying life,” an Israeli minister has reportedly said.

Yisrael Katz, currently serving as both minister for transport and intelligence, made the comments in an interview with Israel Radio shortly after a number of bombings in Brussels which are believed to have killed at least 31 people and injured more than 200 others.

On Tuesday, terror group Isis claimed responsibility for two explosions at Brussels Airport and one at Maalbeek Metro station.

The Jerusalem Post reports that Mr Katz said of the terror attacks: “If in Belgium they continue eating chocolate and enjoying life, and continue to appear as great democrats and liberals, and not decided that some Muslims in their country are [organising] terror, they won’t be able to fight them.”

Nava Boker, of the Likud party, said: “Belgium must close its borders immediately, eject from itself inciters and stop Muslim immigration into the country.”

On Tuesday Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu called for political unity to defeat terrorism, US News reported.

In a speech delivered via video link to the American Israel Public Affairs Committee Policy Conference in Washington, he said: “The chain of attacks from Paris to San Bernardino to Istanbul to the Ivory Coast and now to Brussels and the daily attacks in Israel, this is one continuous assault on all of us.

“The only way to defeat these terrorists is to join together and fight them together. That’s how we’ll defeat terrorism: with political unity and with moral clarity.”

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