Belgian Police patrol the Grand Place in Brussels, October 17, 2023, following the shooting of two Swedish soccer fans who were shot by a suspected Tunisian extremist on October 16. Photo: VCG

While terrorist attacks and violence linked to racial division continue to increase in Europe and the US, Chinese experts warned on Tuesday that the Israel-Palestine conflict has brought to light the deep-rooted divisions within Western societies, as well as the contradictions of ethnic antagonism, and the Western countries should reflect on this, rather than evade the problem.

Two Swedish nationals were shot to death and a third one was wounded in central Brussels on Monday night, and a man who identified himself as a member of the Islamic State claimed responsibility in a video posted online, Reuters reported.

The suspected assailant fled the scene after the shooting spree as a soccer match between Belgium and Sweden was about to start, prompting Belgium to raise its terror alert to the highest level. Hours later on Tuesday, Belgian police said that the suspected gunman was shot dead by police in a cafe, Reuters reported.

The shooting comes at a time of heightened security concerns in some European countries linked to the Israel-Palestine conflict.

A man of Chechen origin stabbed to death a teacher and severely wounded two other adults on Friday at a school in northeastern France, an act that President Emmanuel Macron denounced as "Islamist terror," said AFP.

What's more, an Illinois landlord accused of fatally stabbing a 6-year-old Muslim boy and seriously wounding his mother was charged with a hate crime after police and relatives said he singled out the victims because of their faith and as a response to the war between Israel and Hamas. 

"Detectives were able to determine that both victims in this brutal attack were targeted by the suspect due to them being Muslim and the on-going Middle Eastern conflict involving Hamas and the Israelis," the sheriff's statement said.

Experts believed that the Israel-Palestine conflict is the trigger, but the deep divisions in the societies of the US and Europe are the source of increased ethnic hatred. Such a division will inevitably affect the strategic coordination and strategic autonomy between the US and Europe.

In recent days, police in US cities and federal authorities have been on high alert for violence driven by anti-semitic or Islamophobic sentiments. FBI officials, along with Jewish and Muslim groups, have reported an increase of hateful and threatening rhetoric. 

Because Western societies have maintained an attitude of taking sides concerning the issue of the Israel-Palestine conflict, the existing disputes between the two countries have intensified, Li Haidong, a professor at the China Foreign Affairs University, told the Global Times on Tuesday. 

The US and Europe are most affected because the problem was actually created by the two, Li noted. "The US and Europe need to face up to and resolve their own divisions first, rather than evading problems and stirring up conflict elsewhere."