Dutch Foreign Minister Caspar Veldkamp has resigned after failing to secure cabinet support for additional sanctions against Israel over its military onslaught in Gaza.
Veldkamp, a member of the centre-right New Social Contract party, said on Friday that he could not achieve agreement on “meaningful measures” and had repeatedly faced resistance from colleagues over sanctions already in place.
His efforts included imposing entry bans on far-right Israeli ministers, Bezalel Smotrich and Itamar Ben-Gvir, citing their role in inciting settler violence against Palestinians.
Veldkamp also revoked three export permits for navy ship components, warning of “deteriorating conditions” in Gaza and the “risk of undesirable end use”.
“I also see what is happening on the ground in Gaza, the attack on Gaza City, and what is happening in the West Bank, the building decision for the disputed settlement E1, and East Jerusalem,” Veldkamp told reporters.
His departure leaves the Netherlands without a foreign minister as the European Union navigates security guarantees for Ukraine and continues talks with the United States over tariffs.
Following his resignation, all New Social Contract ministers and state secretaries confirmed their support for Veldkamp and resigned from the caretaker government in solidarity.
Al Jazeera’s Step Vaessen, reporting from Berlin on developments in the Netherlands, said Veldkamp was “under increasing pressure from lawmakers in parliament, especially from the opposition who have been requesting stricter sanctions against Israel”.
While Veldkamp had announced travel bans for two Israeli ministers a few weeks ago, Vaessen said the foreign minister was facing growing demands after Israel’s attacks on Gaza City and the “increasing aggression” that the Dutch government “should be doing more”.
“Veldkamp has also been pushing for a suspension of the trade agreement that the EU has with Israel,” Vaessen added, noting that the Dutch foreign minister had “increasingly become frustrated because Germany was blocking that. So there was also this push from the Dutch parliament that the Netherlands shouldn’t wait anymore for any European sanctions but should put sanctions on Israel alone.”
Source - Al Jazeera
Veldkamp, a member of the centre-right New Social Contract party, said on Friday that he could not achieve agreement on “meaningful measures” and had repeatedly faced resistance from colleagues over sanctions already in place.
His efforts included imposing entry bans on far-right Israeli ministers, Bezalel Smotrich and Itamar Ben-Gvir, citing their role in inciting settler violence against Palestinians.
Veldkamp also revoked three export permits for navy ship components, warning of “deteriorating conditions” in Gaza and the “risk of undesirable end use”.
“I also see what is happening on the ground in Gaza, the attack on Gaza City, and what is happening in the West Bank, the building decision for the disputed settlement E1, and East Jerusalem,” Veldkamp told reporters.
His departure leaves the Netherlands without a foreign minister as the European Union navigates security guarantees for Ukraine and continues talks with the United States over tariffs.
Following his resignation, all New Social Contract ministers and state secretaries confirmed their support for Veldkamp and resigned from the caretaker government in solidarity.
Al Jazeera’s Step Vaessen, reporting from Berlin on developments in the Netherlands, said Veldkamp was “under increasing pressure from lawmakers in parliament, especially from the opposition who have been requesting stricter sanctions against Israel”.
While Veldkamp had announced travel bans for two Israeli ministers a few weeks ago, Vaessen said the foreign minister was facing growing demands after Israel’s attacks on Gaza City and the “increasing aggression” that the Dutch government “should be doing more”.
“Veldkamp has also been pushing for a suspension of the trade agreement that the EU has with Israel,” Vaessen added, noting that the Dutch foreign minister had “increasingly become frustrated because Germany was blocking that. So there was also this push from the Dutch parliament that the Netherlands shouldn’t wait anymore for any European sanctions but should put sanctions on Israel alone.”
Source - Al Jazeera
