Dutch Foreign Affairs Minister Caspar Veldkamp has made it clear: if there’s no ceasefire or unified EU action by the next big EU meeting on July 15, the Netherlands is ready to consider taking national measures against Israel.
What measures, exactly? “I haven’t thought about that yet,” Veldkamp said during a meeting at the House of Representatives on Wednesday.
He doesn’t expect national sanctions alone to move mountains “but if several countries take action, it might actually have an effect,” he added.
According to de Volskrant, for now, he’s focused on turning up the pressure within the EU to push for a ceasefire.
Ceasefire by July 15 or else
Kaja Kallas, the EU’s High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy, has “directly contacted Israel” Veldkamp claimed.
And earlier in June she greenlit an investigation into Israel’s activities, also requested by Veldkamp.
READ MORE | Finally! EU majority supports Dutch push for Israel investigation
If they can’t reach an agreement by July 15, when EU foreign ministers will meet again, the next step would be to look into joint European measures.
Especially if Israel is found to be violating Article 2 of the EU-Israel Association Agreement; the agreement that covers human rights and democratic principles.
A formal investigation by the European Commission is already underway.
What did others have to say?
During the meeting at the House of Representatives, Stephan van Baarle (Denk) pulled no punches, calling Israel a “criminal organisation” and saying it has “wasted its right to exist.”
Meanwhile, Derk Boswijk from the CDA (Christian Democratic Appeal) took a different angle, wondering whether the Netherlands is hurting the international legal order by treating Israeli and Russian war crimes differently.
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Even Thom van Campen from the VVD (People’s Party for Freedom and Democracy), typically more cautious, acknowledged the suffering in Gaza and said that Israel’s actions amount to war crimes — and yes, those should have consequences.
Despite this, van Campe still faced criticism from opposition parties, who ask what specific sanctions the VVD supports and are not satisfied only with his vague response.
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