The Dutch Foreign Minister resigned because of Israel

In early June , Geert Wilders' right-wing Party for Freedom (PVV) left the ruling coalition in the Netherlands , prompting Prime Minister Dick Schoof to resign. Since then, the Netherlands has been governed by a caretaker government.

On Friday, one of its leading figures said goodbye to this government – ​​Foreign Minister Caspar Veldkamp, ​​head of Dutch diplomacy from 2024, diplomat, and former Dutch ambassador to Israel and Greece.

In a conversation with journalists, Veldkamp announced his resignation over the interim government's stance on Israel's war in the Gaza Strip. The minister stated that the government does not support the introduction of additional measures against Israel in connection with Gaza and its so-called settlement plans in the occupied West Bank.

"I felt resistance within the government to new measures in light of what's happening in Gaza City and the occupied West Bank," he said, announcing his formal resignation. He added that he felt his ministers wouldn't support him. "This won't change in the coming months and years, and if my room for maneuver is so limited on this issue, I'll go home and write a statement of resignation," he said.

Meanwhile, the Dutch news portal NOS reported that all serving ministers and state secretaries from the New Social Contract (NSC) party in the Dutch government will resign in solidarity with Veldkamp. This group includes Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Asylum Policy Eddy van Hijum, Minister of the Interior Judith Uitermark, Minister of Education Eppo Bruins, and Minister of Health Daniëlle Jansen.

Dutch Foreign Minister Caspar Veldkamp in a conversation with journalists

Photo: PAP/EPA/REMKO DE WAAL

"The Israeli government's actions are contrary to international agreements. We must draw the line," van Hijum emphasized.

The earlier five-hour parliamentary debate showed that the interim government is divided over its vision for Israel policy. Dutch media reported that the Farmer-Citizen Movement (BBB) ​​and the People's Party for Freedom and Democracy (VVD) expressed opposition to implementing measures aimed at the state ruled by Benjamin Netanyahu.

So far, the Dutch authorities have limited themselves to introducing an entry ban for two members of the Israeli government, Minister of National Security Itamar Ben-Gvir and Minister of Finance Bezalel Smotrich, permanent members of the National Security Committee, nationalists who demand the annexation of part of the territory of the Gaza Strip and have also called for the annexation of the occupied West Bank.

On Friday, experts responsible for the Integrated Food Security Phase Classification (IPC), a system developed by the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) in collaboration with other international organizations, concluded that the situation in and around Gaza meets three basic criteria for famine. This assessment represents a serious escalation of the humanitarian crisis in Gaza. The report emphasizes that the famine in Gaza is "entirely human-induced."

"If a ceasefire is not implemented to allow humanitarian aid to reach everyone in the Gaza Strip (...), preventable deaths will increase exponentially," the experts warned. They also pointed to the lack of basic health services in Gaza.

Destruction in the Gaza Strip

Photo: PAP

The IPC system was established in 2004. Since then, famine has been declared four times in some part of the world, always in African countries, the last time in 2024 in Sudan.

Meanwhile, the Israeli military is implementing a plan approved by the Netanyahu government to occupy Gaza City, which was home to approximately 600,000 people before the war. Humanitarian organizations are warning that Israel's military actions will further deepen the humanitarian crisis in the Gaza Strip.

On Thursday, the British newspaper The Guardian reported that a proprietary Israeli military intelligence database showed that civilians made up at least 83 percent of those killed by the Israeli military in the Gaza Strip.

Reports of children killed and wounded in Israeli attacks arrive daily from the Gaza Strip. The Israeli military (IDF) claims it complies with international law and is doing everything it can to minimize civilian casualties.

The Israeli news website +972 reported that the Israeli military has significantly loosened its criteria for permissible civilian casualties. According to the figures, Israeli soldiers can kill 100 Palestinian civilians when attempting to kill a senior Hamas commander, and up to 20 civilians for lower-ranking targets.