Already countless times the House of Representatives debated about Gaza, but not before was the humanitarian situation of the Palestinian population -driven and hungry population as dire. That is why the Chamber interrupted the summer recess on Thursday for a debate about what the Netherlands can and should do to stop the war and the suffering, which was described by parties such as ‘catastrophic’, ‘heartbreaking’ and ‘inhumane’. “We are in danger of becoming a spectator at an ethnic cleansing or genocide, or we are already it,” noted D66 spokesperson Jan Paternotte.
More and more aid organizations, experts and recently also human rights organizations in Israel are establishing that Israel commits serious war crimes in Gaza, hunger as a weapon and genocide commits on the Palestinian population. With the threat of genocide alone, the Netherlands, which is a party to the genocide conversation, has the duty ‘to act’ to try to prevent this, the Advisory Committee on international law issues (CAVV)an advisory body of government and parliament, this week. Even if the Netherlands “does not have the capacity to prevent a genocide, only acting.”
Outgoing minister Caspar Veldkamp (Foreign Affairs, NSC), right, during the commission debate in the Lower House, Thursday, about Gaza.
Also the College of Human Rights noted prior to the parliamentary debate That there is a “legal and moral obligation” in the Netherlands to take measures against Israel in view of the situation in Gaza. The need in Gaza is “such that heavier means of means can no longer be postponed,” the college wrote.
The critical parties in the Chamber, from left to the CDA, seized the advice to argue that the measures that demonstrated Minister Caspar Veldkamp (NSC) announced are completely insufficient. Veldkamp announced last week that the Netherlands is currently setting national sanctions against Israel, by imposing an entry ban on the extreme right-wing ministers ITAMAR BEN-GVIR and Bezalel Smotrich. Veldkamp also argues in EU context for suspending European trade agreements with Israel, but this requires support from other countries.
That is all together “still almost nothing,” said Paternotte (D66). “Every day that we do not impose sanctions with teeth, a signal to Netanyahu can continue.” CDA MP Derk Boswijk also called it “too late and too little”. “There must be a scoop on top.” Volt leader Laurens Dassen argued for “hard economic, military, political and diplomatic sanctions” and announced, among other things, an initiative law, after Irish example, to fully ban trade with Israeli settlements.
‘Full arms embargo’
A number of parties also advocated a complete arms embargo against Israel, including the stopping of purchasing Israeli weapons. Examine NRC Last year showed that the Dutch army has bought about two billion euros in Israeli weapons in recent years, including self -protection systems for armored cars and planes. In this way the Netherlands sponsors the Israeli arms industry and the war can continue, Kati Piri (GroenLinks-PvdA) reasoned. “These weapons are made in Israel, and have also been tested on the Palestinians in Gaza.”
The public gallery during the commission debate on Gaza, Thursday, with standing Herman Tjeenk Willink, former vice-president of the Council of State.
A measure that the outgoing cabinet also does not want is also the recognition of the Palestinian state. French President Macron recently announced that his country will acknowledge Palestine at the General Meeting of the United Nations in September. A series of countries from inside and outside the EU has joined this initiative, the United Kingdom is also considering this, to put diplomatic pressure on Israel. The Netherlands has always said that Palestine can only be recognized as a state as the outcome of a peace process.
CDA: ‘Proactive steps’
Just before the debate, the CDA also spoke for recognizing Palestine, while the party was always on the traditional Dutch point of view. In a memorandum, MP Boswijk writes that the Netanyahu government “” actively hinders “the two-state solution and the chance of peace in Gaza and that it is therefore time for” proactive steps that have been postponed for decades “. De Traight fits a more critical attitude that the CDA, traditionally strong pro-Israel, has taken since a few months.
Such a more critical attitude is less visible to the right -wing parties, some of which – such as SGP, PVV and BBB, continue to support Israel unconditionally. “BBB still sees Israel as a good ally. If Hamas submits the weapons, it will be peace tomorrow,” said spokesperson Henk Vermeer. More important is the position of coalition party VVD, which can give a majority to a stricter line against Israel in the Chamber. Other parties accused MP Eric van der Burg in the debate of ‘looking away’.
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Van der Burg was critical of the Netanyahu government in the debate, especially when it comes to assistance. “Emergency aid must be delivered in full, there Netanyahu failed,” said Van der Burg. But that does not make him in favor of further national sanctions. The VVD only wants to put Israel under pressure in a European context. “That is the only way, I don’t believe it helps if we take motions here.”
Minister Veldkamp also called the setting of European sanctions “the most effective”, but many parties in the Chamber fear that an agreement in Brussels about suspending trade agreements with Israel can take weeks or months.
Veldkamp promised that he will continue to put pressure on other European countries and “will not wait until another EU meeting is invested.” Veldkamp does not exclude further national sanctions at a later stage, but he believes that the Netherlands “is not doing insufficient now”.
The left opposition heard it in disbelief. Kati Piri (GroenLinks-PvdA) sighed: “It is fluctuating between looking away, cowardice and even facilitating genocide. While we don’t have time to lose.”