https://arab.news/z6c7w
- Veldkamp said he was unable to take meaningful measures against Israel after a cabinet debate on possible sanctions
THE HAGUE: Dutch Foreign Minister Caspar Veldkamp resigned on Friday after a cabinet meeting failed to agree sanctions against Israel.
“I see that I am insufficiently able to take meaningful additional measures to increase pressure on Israel,” Veldkamp told ANP after a cabinet debate on possible sanctions against Israel was deadlocked.
Last month Veldkamp declared far-right Israeli ministers Itamar Ben-Gvir and Bezalel Smotrich unwelcome in the Netherlands.
On Thursday he said he wanted to take further steps against Israel, but later acknowledged he lacked confidence he could act effectively in the coming weeks or months.
The minister said the steps he had proposed were “seriously discussed” but encountered resistance in successive cabinet meetings.
“I feel constrained in setting the course I consider necessary as foreign minister,” he said.
The Netherlands was among 21 countries that signed a joint declaration on Thursday condemning Israel’s approval of a major West Bank settlement project as “unacceptable and contrary to international law.”