Red paint smeared across Ministry of Foreign Affairs in pro-Palestinian protest

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs was smeared with red paint early on Monday morning, a ministry spokesperson confirmed. A pro-Palestinian activist group defaced the building on Rijnstraat, saying that the Dutch government is complicit “in the genocide in Palestine,” the group told ANP on Monday morning.

The protestors also affixed photos of Palestinian victims from the war in Gaza on the facade of the ministry. The group was also angry that the Dutch government has decided to stop financing United Nations aid organization UNRWA.

A spokesperson for the ministry said the office would file a report with police in an attempt to press charges. “Although the investigation is still ongoing, we can already conclude that this is vandalism against a government building, and that is unacceptable.”

The police are investigating the circumstances regarding the graffiti. A cleaning crew was called in to remove the red paint from the building as quickly as possible.

The use of paint generated a significant amount of attention, local broadcaster Omroep West reported. “Many people are here taking photos,” said a reporter from the media outlet at the scene.

In January, the Ministry of Defense was also smeared with red paint because of Dutch arms deliveries to Israel. Red paint was used to deface several museums in Amsterdam in November because “the genocide in Gaza” was not being recognized, the group, Workers for Palestine Netherlands, said at the time.