Israel crisis in the Netherlands: Ministers resign one after another
Caspar Veldkamp, the Dutch interim government's foreign minister, resigned after his coalition partners blocked an increase in sanctions against Israel.
Foreign Minister Veldkamp, from the New Social Contract (NSC) party in the Dutch interim coalition government, said he would not be able to continue in his position because other parties and ministers in his cabinet oppose further sanctions against Israel.
"We have already taken a number of steps (against Israel) as a cabinet. The Netherlands should not be ashamed of that. I felt pressure from the cabinet not to implement further measures because of what happened in Gaza City and the West Bank," Veldkamp told reporters after the cabinet meeting.
Veldkamp, who stated that he believed the pressure he faced from other cabinet ministers and parties prevented him from doing his job, said, "I have no confidence that this situation will change in the coming months and years. I'm going home now and will write a resignation letter."
According to public broadcaster NOS, citing NSC sources, following Veldkamp's resignation, other NSC ministers in the government also decided to resign.
In addition to Veldkamp, the interim government includes one deputy prime minister, three ministers and four state ministers from the NSC.
Other ministers also resignedFollowing the resignation of Foreign Minister Caspar Veldkamp, whose request to increase sanctions against Israel was blocked by his coalition partners, other ministers from the NSC party in the interim government also resigned.
Deputy Prime Minister Eddy van Hijum, NSC leader and Minister of Social Affairs and Employment in the interim government, announced his party's decision to withdraw from the cabinet, saying, "In short, we can't take it anymore."
"We, as the NSC group, have decided to follow the position of our Foreign Minister Caspar Veldkamp," Van Hijum told reporters, along with other ministers in the government.
Van Hijum stated that they tried to make a move on critical issues during the day-long talks but were unsuccessful, saying, "There was no progress. Veldkamp then made his own decision."
Van Hijum stated that they trust Veldkamp's experience regarding the steps to be taken regarding the Israeli-Palestinian issue, saying, "We have great confidence in him. He couldn't find the ground today, and that makes it impossible for us to continue."
When asked which coalition partners had not given Veldkamp a seat, Van Hijum said, "From the other two coalition partners," pointing to the People's Party for Freedom and Democracy (VVD) and the Citizens' Movement Party (BBB) in the interim coalition.
Van Hijum stated that Israel had violated many international agreements, saying, "There was no real willingness to react to the worsening situation and to take steps against the Israeli government's implementation of measures contrary to international agreements and humanitarian laws of war."
STATEMENT FROM THE PRIME MINISTERDutch Prime Minister Dick Schoof said, "We respectfully welcome, but regretfully so," the withdrawal of ministers from the New Social Contract Party (NSC) from the coalition government.
Prime Minister Schoof made a statement regarding the resignation of Foreign Minister Caspar Veldkamp, whose request to increase sanctions against Israel was blocked by the coalition partners, and the resignation of other NSC ministers from the interim government.
Schoof announced that Veldkamp and other NSC ministers had resigned from the interim government, saying, "The Foreign Minister announced that he would go to the King and submit his resignation immediately. Subsequently, the other NSC ministers also informed the Council of Ministers that they had requested their resignation immediately."
Addressing MPs from the parliamentary podium, Schoof said regarding the withdrawal of NSC ministers from the coalition government, "We respectfully welcome it, but we are saddened. Especially considering the cabinet's responsibility during this interim period."
Schoof stated that the government needs to hold discussions on how to continue on its path and that the road map will be announced in the coming days.
SANCTIONS AGAINST THE SETTLEMENT PLANVan Hijum emphasized the need to take "very clear measures" against Israel's new settlement plan, and continued:
"This plan completely contradicts international agreements and pushes the two-state solution very far into the future. In our assessment, it also contradicts the government program we adopted. The most critical issue in parliamentary debates is Israel's settlement policy and the consequences for the Netherlands of trade relations with illegal Israeli settlements. This was discussed for a long time, and it was important to be able to do something about this at the national level. When action at the European level took too long and was not taken, the minister (Veldkamp) should have been able to take action on behalf of the government, as part of his own responsibility. He didn't feel this need, and neither did we."
Van Hijum noted that after Geert Wilders, leader of the far-right Party for Freedom (PVV), withdrew his party from the coalition on June 3 due to disagreements over immigration policies, they hoped the government would take joint steps regarding relations with Israel, but this did not happen.
Following Wilders' withdrawal from the government, the current cabinet, which continues to serve as a three-party interim government, consists of Veldkamp and Van Hijum, as well as Minister of the Interior and Crown Relations Judith Uitermark (NSC); Minister of Education, Culture and Science Eppo Bruins; Minister of Public Health, Welfare and Sports Danielle Jansen; Minister of State for Foreign Trade Hanneke Boerma; Minister of State for Legal Protection Teun Struycken; Minister of State for Taxation and Customs Tjebbe van Oostenbruggen; and Minister of State for Social Assistance Sandra Palmen-Schlangen.
He called for tougher sanctions against Israel.Veldkamp stated that additional measures and sanctions were necessary during discussions in the Dutch parliament yesterday and today where the implementation of harsher measures and sanctions against Israel was discussed.
However, the People's Party for Freedom and Democracy (VVD) and the Citizens' Movement Party (BBB), which are in the interim coalition, stated that Veldkamp had not discussed this additional measure against Israel with them.
Source: AA
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