Overview

• Caspar Veldkamp resigned after a cabinet deadlock on tougher measures against Israel tied to the Gaza war and West Bank settlement expansion.
• Ministers from his New Social Contract party also stepped down from the caretaker government, increasing uncertainty before the Oct. 29 election.
• Dutch lawmakers subsequently voted down recognition of a Palestinian state and rejected motions to boycott settlement goods and halt government purchases of Israeli weapons.
• In prior steps, Veldkamp barred Israeli ministers Itamar Ben-Gvir and Bezalel Smotrich from entering the Netherlands and revoked three export permits for navy-ship components.
• Calls for action intensified as a UN-backed food security body declared famine conditions in parts of Gaza while EU states struggled to agree on collective sanctions.