Caspar Veldkamp, the country’s foreign minister, resigned after failing to secure the government’s support for additional sanctions against Israel for its military assault on Gaza.
Veldkamp, a member of the centre-right New Social Contract party, claimed on Friday that colleagues had repeatedly resisted imposing “meaningful measures” and had repeatedly faced opposition to them because they were already putting in place.
Bezalel Smotrich and Itamar Ben-Gvir, two far-right Israeli ministers, were among his efforts, including enforcing entry bans against them for their involvement in provoking settler violence against Palestinians.
Additionally, Veldkamp issued a warning about “deteriorating conditions” in Gaza and the “risk of undesirable end use” by robbing three export permits for navy ship components.
“I also observe the construction decision for the disputed settlement E1, as well as the attacks on Gaza City, the developments in the West Bank, and East Jerusalem,” Veldkamp told reporters.
As the European Union negotiates security guarantees for Ukraine and continues to discuss tariffs with the United States, his departure leaves the Netherlands without a foreign minister.
All New Social Contract ministers and state secretaries resigned from the caretaker government in solidarity after he resigned.
Veldkamp was “under increasing pressure from parliamentarians, particularly from the opposition who have been asking for stricter sanctions against Israel,” according to Al Jazeera’s Step Vaessen, who was reporting from Berlin on the developments in the Netherlands.
Vaessen said the foreign minister was facing growing demands that the Dutch government “should be doing more,” despite Veldkamp’s announcement to ban two Israeli ministers from traveling there a few weeks ago.
The Dutch foreign minister had “increasingly become frustrated because Germany was blocking that,” Vaessen continued, noting that “Veldkamp has also been pushing for a suspension of the EU’s trade agreement with Israel.” The Dutch parliament also pushed the idea that the Netherlands should impose sanctions on Israel on its own instead of waiting for any further European sanctions.
Relations between Israel and Europe
Despite the country’s limited sanctions against Israel, the nation continues to support the F-35 fighter jet’s supply chain.
According to research from the Palestinian Youth Movement, ships carrying F-35 components frequently dock at Rotterdam, which is run by Danish shipping company Maersk.
Israel has engaged in F-35 jets in airstrikes on Gaza, which have destroyed much of the Strip and caused more than 62, 000 lives since October 2023.
The Netherlands joined 20 other countries earlier this week to denounce Israel’s approval of a sizable expansion of the West Bank’s settlements, calling it “unacceptable and contrary to international law.”
In addition, as a result of the mounting famine, Israel’s military attacks on Gaza continue. Residents of Gaza City and the surrounding areas are currently in officially famine conditions, according to a global hunger monitor’s confirmation on Friday.
Source: Aljazeera
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