Rutte covering up negative info about Israel to protect future NATO job, officials say
Update 11:20 a.m. - article updated to add a response from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in the bottom two paragraphs
Outgoing Prime Minister Mark Rutte and his Ministry of General Affairs are keeping a firm grip on the Dutch government’s communications about Israel and Gaza. The outgoing Dutch Prime Minister is sweeping politically unwelcome information about Israel, such as possible human rights violations, under the rug so as not to offend the United States and protect his prospects for his future job as NATO leader, NRC reports based on an anonymous letter a group of civil servants from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs wrote to the Court of Appeal in The Hague.
“A request from the Ministry of General Affairs to the Legal Affairs Directorate at Foreign Affairs reads as follows,” NRC quoted from the officials’ letter: “What can we say so that it appears that Israel is not committing war crimes?”
Rutte and his Ministers have spoken out about the war, which has cost the lives of around 24,000 Palestinians and 1,200 Israelis so far, multiple times, urging Israel to act within the international rule of law. The Netherlands has never called for a ceasefire, only sticking to appeals for “humanitarian pauses.”
On Friday, Rutte posted about a call he had with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on X. “Hamas must release all of the hostages as soon as possible. At the same time, Israel must drastically reduce the level of force used in its operations, as it is causing too many casualties among innocent civilians. Israel must also allow substantially more humanitarian aid into Gaza and more quickly. We discussed concrete measures for making this possible. The situation calls for an immediate humanitarian pause,” Rutte said.
According to the officials at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Rutte is following the United States’ line on Israel to protect his prospects to succeed Jens Stoltenberg as the Secretary General of NATO. The European allies certainly have a say in this appointment, but the White House’s vote is decisive.
The U.S. government has publicly chastised Netanyahu about the exorbitant violence used on Palestinian civilians but has never called for a ceasefire. According to NRC, Joe Biden is running for a second term as president, and he worries that criticizing Israel for killing 24,000 Palestinians, including over 10,000 children would alienate large groups of voters.
So, the U.S. continues to support Israel, and Rutte’s outgoing Cabinet is following suit, the officials wrote. According to the critical civil servants, the Netherlands’ policy of doing everything possible to get Dutch people into top international positions conflicts with the harsh reality of the war in Gaza. Dutch diplomats from North Africa and the Middle East have warned that the region can’t understand the Dutch political line - asking for support to prosecute Russian President Vladimir Putin but refusing to take a stand against Israel.
The matter is also causing conflict within the outgoing Cabinet, the officials said. According to them, Foreign Affairs Minister Hanke Bruins Slot wanted to vote for a second UN resolution in December calling for “creating the conditions for a long-term cessation of hostilities.” That resolution had already been significantly watered down from the first one calling for an immediate cease-fire. But Rutte insisted the Netherlands abstain, and that’s what happened, the officials wrote.
The officials wrote their letter to the Court of Appeal in The Hague because the court will handle an appeal case on Monday against the Netherlands for delivering parts for Israeli F-35 fighter jets from a distribution center at Woensdrecht air base. Human rights organizations Oxfam Novig, Pax, and The Rights Forum demand that the Netherlands stop contributing to the war in this way. In November, the court ruled that the Netherlands could continue deliveries for the time being.
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs is outraged by the letter from anonymous officials in its department, calling it “extremely malicious” and “completely inappropriate.” According to the Ministry, it never received any requests to say something that would make it appear that Israel was not committing war crimes.
“The Ministry rejects the allegations contained in it. The letter writers make allegations and provide quotes that the Ministry does not recognize at all,” the Ministry of Foreign Affairs said in a statement.