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3w ago

Netherlands Foreign Minister Resigns Over Israel Sanctions Deadlock as NSC Leaves Cabinet

The split over proposed penalties reflects mounting pressure following a UN-backed declaration of famine in parts of Gaza.

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FILE - Netherlands' Foreign Minister Caspar Veldkamp lays flowers during a wreath laying ceremony on the 30th anniversary of Srebrenica massacre at the Memorial Center in Potocari, Bosnia, July 11, 2025. (AP Photo/Darko Bandic, File)
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Overview

  • Caspar Veldkamp quit on Aug. 22 after failing to win cabinet backing for new measures against Israel’s war in Gaza.
  • His New Social Contract colleagues also resigned from the caretaker cabinet; Prime Minister Dick Schoof said he regretted the departures.
  • The next day, MPs rejected motions to recognize a Palestinian state and to adopt punitive steps such as a settlement import ban and curbs on buying Israeli arms.
  • In recent weeks the Netherlands barred Israeli ministers Itamar Ben-Gvir and Bezalel Smotrich, revoked three export permits for navy-ship parts, and joined 21 countries condemning a major West Bank settlement plan.
  • The rupture comes as EU governments remain split on collective sanctions and as Dutch protests swell, with elections set for Oct. 29 and no successor to Veldkamp announced.