Foreign Minister Resigns Over Gaza Genocide Response

On 22 August, Dutch Foreign Minister Caspar Veldkamp resigned after failing to win cabinet approval for stronger sanctions on Israel, citing Israel’s ongoing genocide in Gaza and expanding settlements in the West Bank. A member of the New Social Contract (NSC) party and former ambassador to Israel, Veldkamp said he could no longer “implement policy myself and chart the course I deem necessary.”

He had advocated for measures including travel bans on far-right Israeli ministers Bezalel Smotrich and Itamar Ben-Gvir, revoking export permits for naval components, and pushing the EU to suspend its trade agreement with Israel. His initiatives met repeated resistance within the cabinet.

NSC Ministers Exit in Solidarity

The day after Veldkamp’s resignation, all NSC ministers and state secretaries also quit the caretaker government.

Their departures included the acting deputy prime minister, the health minister, and ministers for education and the interior. Party leader Eddy van Hijum declared, “In short we are done with it,” and condemned Israel’s actions as incompatible with international law.

The mass walkout left the Netherlands’ caretaker administration severely weakened. The government had already collapsed on 3 June 2025, when far-right leader Geert Wilders withdrew from the coalition over immigration policy. Elections are scheduled for October 2025, though coalition negotiations may stretch for months.

Mo...