The Belgium government and the country's banks have reached an agreement to pay $170 million to victims of the Holocaust, their families and the Jewish community. Eli Ringer, co-chairman of the committee on the restitution of Jewish assets, said the announcement is a sign that "justice has been done [although] there are people who never came back" after being transferred to Nazi death camps. Approximately half of Belgium's' 50,000 Jews were murdered in the Holocaust, and a government report last year stated that Belgian authorities collaborated with the Nazi persecution of Jews.

Almost one-third of the money will be paid to individuals, and the remainder will be put into a trust fund to help the poor and to increase awareness of the Holocaust. The Banks will pay $85 million and the government will contribute $69.8 million.