Overview

• Dutch lawmakers rejected motions to recognize a Palestinian state and to adopt new punitive measures against Israel, including a settlements import ban and a halt to weapons purchases.
• Foreign Minister Caspar Veldkamp resigned after saying he lacked the space to enact tougher measures, and all New Social Contract ministers and state secretaries left the caretaker government in solidarity.
• Veldkamp had already barred Israeli ministers Itamar Ben-Gvir and Bezalel Smotrich from entering the Netherlands and canceled three export permits for Israeli navy components.
• He had pushed for steps such as suspending EU trade arrangements with Israel and restricting products from settlements, but he faced resistance in cabinet and no EU consensus on collective sanctions.
• Pressure for action intensified following a UN-backed declaration of famine in parts of Gaza and large protests in The Hague that drew an estimated 100,000 to 150,000 people, as the Netherlands also joined 21 countries condemning Israel’s E1 settlement plan.