Dutch foreign minister resigns over failure to secure sanctions against Israel
The Dutch foreign minister, Caspar Veldkamp, has resigned after a cabinet meeting failed to secure sanctions against Israel, weakening the Netherlands’ already fragile caretaker government.
Veldkamp’s colleagues from the centrist New Social Contract (NSC) party also walked out after the cabinet debate late on Friday reached an impasse over adopting harsher measures against Israel.
The discussions about taking further steps against Israel came after the Netherlands joined 20 other countries in signing a joint declaration on Thursday condemning Israeli plans to build an illegal settlement in the occupied West Bank. Critics say the 3,400-home settlement would split the territory in half.
The Netherlands barred the far-right Israeli ministers Itamar Ben-Gvir and Bezalel Smotrich from entering the country in July.
After Friday’s meeting, Veldkamp – a former ambassador to Israel – told the Dutch news agency ANP he was “insufficiently able to take meaningful additional measures”. In a statement announcing his resignation, he said “we are living in a time of unprecedented geopolitical tension, where diplomacy matters more than ever”. [Continue reading…]