What should Have Been a Short Conclusion To An Earlier Gaza Debate Turned Into A Long, Heated Discussion In The House of Representatives On Thursday. Opposition Parties withdrew Their Confidence in Outgoing Minister Caspar Veldkamp (Foreign Affairs). The House Will Continue the Debate on Friday.
“I think it is necessary that additional Measures are declared,” Said Veldkamp After Almost Five Hours of Debate. In a previously sent letter to the house, the called additional sanctions against Israel “Necessary.”
But the crux was in the words “I think.” DRA was Veldkamp Speaking Here on Behalf of the Entire Outgoing Cabinet? Normally that is always the case with ministers. Otherwise, there is a cabinet crisis.
Veldkamp, However, Repeatedly Referred to the Council of Ministers on Friday During the Debate. In The Weekly Consultation, The Cabinet Members had to reach Reach on Possible Extra (National) Sanctions Against Israel.
The house remained confused and angry. SP, Party for the Animals and Denk had submitted a motion of no confidence at the beginning of the debate. The Parties Believe That The Netherlands is Doing Too Little To Prevent A Genocide in Gaza by Israel.
Difficult Balancing Act by Veldkamp
GroenLinks-Pvda and D66 had Already Warned through X Before the Debate that they would withdraw Their Confidence in the minister IF “Strong National Sanctions” Against Israel Were Not Tasks That Day.
Veldkamp Balanced Between what he himself would like to promise Directly and What the Council of Ministers would decide a day later. The house Any valler forced Him Duration the Debate to Consult with his Colleagues in the Cabinet Whether He Could Promise Extra Sanctions in Parliament. That was not successful.
Therefore, as a high exception, it was decided that the debate will be resumed on Friday after the Council of Ministers. The house will then return from recess for the third time. Only in this way will the parliamentarians know Whether Extra Sanctions Against Israel will be tasks and if so, which ones.
NSC Changes Position
Two week ago it appeared that a majority of the house supports The Cabinet’s Israel Policy. There were no extra Measures or Sanctions Against the Government of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, Despite the Call from Mainly Left-Wing Opposition Parties.
In The Meantime, NSC Has Changed its position. The party is now in favor of a National Boycott of Products from Illegal Israeli Settlements in Occupied Palestinian Territory.
That has to do with the further Deteriorations in the middle East. Israel Stepped up the Attacks on Gaza City and the Netanyahu Government Cool the Green Light for the Highly Controversial Construction Plan on the Israeli-Cupied West Bank.
Israel Has Been Working on the plans for these illegal settlements Since the Nineties. The International Community Has Always Been Able to Stop this Until Recently, But That Is Now Changing. The Construction Plans Make A Two-State Solution Virtualy Impossible.
The debate was Sometimes Thorny. For Example, for SP Member of Parliament Sarah Dobbe, The Measure was soon full. Accordance to International Agreements, The Cabinet Has “The Duty to Do Everything Possible to Prevent Genocide.” In The Eyes of the SP Member, This is not Happening and Therefore the Party withdrewe ITS Confidence in the Minister. She Received Support from the Party for the Animals and DENK.
Veldkamp also No Longer Held Back at One Point. The Debate About Gaza was “Mainly Polarized” and According to Him, The House Mainly Spoke About “Process and Procedure Issues.”
The Debate Therefore started to annoy the minister. “We have already tasks a number of Measures,” he said. “I am very clearly committed” to ending the “terrible war” in Gaza. “I’m sticking my neck out for that.”