Caretaker foreign minister Casper Veldkamp (NSC) has stepped down on Friday because his attempts to take more measures against Israel are being blocked by members of his government.
Veldkamp told media on Thursday that he wanted to take extra measures, although a five-hour parliamentary debate made clear that the caretaker government is divided and that Veldkamp had not coordinated his wishes with the rest of the cabinet. BBB and VVD in particular did not wish to go beyond the measures already in place.
Until now, Dutch unilateral action is limited to the largely symbolic gesture of imposing entry bans on far-right Israeli ministers Itamar Ben-Gvir and Bezalel Smotrich.
In a statement, Veldkamp said the cabinet “had already taken considerable steps”. “I felt resistance in the cabinet against more measures as a result of what is happening in Gaza City and the occupied West Bank at the moment,” he said.
He added that he felt the other ministers would not support him. “That is not something that will change in the coming months and years, and if my room for manoeuvre is so limited in this respect, I shall go home and write my letter of resignation,” he said.
VVD MP Eric van der Burg said he had been “flabbergasted” by the minister’s decision, the NRC quoted him as saying, while BBB MP Henk Vermeer said the decision was “a personal one”. The left-wing opposition parties said they are mainly disappointed Veldkamp failed to rally support for the measures.
In a dramatic turn of events, all SNC ministerrs, including social affairs minister Eddy van Heijum, home affairs minister Judith Uitermark, education minister Eppo Bruins and several juior ministers renounced their posts a short time later.
Caretaker prime minister Dick Schoof is expected to make a statement later on Friday.
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