Overview

• Acting foreign minister Caspar Veldkamp resigned, citing cabinet blocks on measures he deemed necessary in response to Gaza and West Bank developments.
• Government sources reported additional ministers resigned in coordinated protest, with portfolios yet to be reassigned and the situation still developing.
• Veldkamp’s NSC backs a ban on imports from Israeli settlements and tougher trade steps, positions rejected by coalition partners VVD and BBB as going too far.
• Israel’s approval of the E1 settlement expansion drew condemnation from Veldkamp as a clear violation of international law that would undermine a contiguous Palestinian state.
• An emergency parliamentary debate turned chaotic and ended without a censure vote, and interim prime minister Dick Schoof was expected to address the chamber.