Georges-Louis Bouchez, Belgian Member of Parliament and President of the “Mouvement Réformateur” political party (MR, liberal-conservative party), has been under fire for several days following his shocking comments in an interview: “I think this attack is rather a stroke of genius”, said Georges-Louis Bouchez, referring to Israel’s attack on Hezbollah members’ beepers.

The MR Chairman may be forgetting that four civilians were killed in the attack, and that the Geneva Conventions prohibit the targeting of civilians.

These statements sparked outrage among some of the political class. “Killing civilians, including children, terrorizing a population that has already suffered, we call that genius at the MR. But what horror. What a disgrace. Where is your moral compass, Mr Bouchez?” said Rajae Maouane, MP and former co-president of Ecolo. Brussels MP Jamal Ikazban (PS) accused the MR president of “apologizing for war crimes”.