Dutch lawmakers on Saturday rejected a motion to recognize an independent Palestinian state, and also voted against punitive measures against Israel, as political deadlock over Israel continued to weaken the Netherlands’ caretaker government.
The proposed measures included boycotting products coming from illegally occupied territories in the West Bank, as well as a ban on the purchase of weapons from Israel.
The votes follow the sudden resignation of Dutch Foreign Minister Caspar Veldkamp late Friday in protest against the government’s reluctance to impose tougher sanctions against Israel over the humanitarian crisis in Gaza.
Veldkamp’s colleagues from the centrist New Social Contract (NSC) party also resigned on Friday. Their departure put additional pressure on the already weak Dutch government, which collapsed in June after Geert Wilders’ far-right Party for Freedom (PVV) left the coalition over a dispute about the country’s migration policy.
A majority of MPs backed a call on the Israeli government to let international and national journalists into Gaza. MPs also agreed on putting “maximum pressure” on countries that “condone” Hamas leaders, according to local media reports.
Some 61,000 Palestinians have been killed since Israel launched its assault on the Gaza Strip immediately following Hamas’ attack on Israel in October 2023, according to the Hamas-run health ministry. The United Nations recently declared a famine in Gaza.