Chaotic parliamentary debate on Gaza paused until after Cabinet meeting
Israel’s starvation and attacks on Gaza have led to an exceptional situation in the Tweede Kamer, the lower house of the Dutch parliament. After returning from summer recess for a second time to debate the situation in the Palestinian territory, the debate was paused without resolution and will continue on Friday after the weekly Cabinet meeting. This very rarely happens, NOS reports.
The debate was very chaotic, with emotions running high. A motion of no confidence against caretaker Minister Caspar Veldkamp of Foreign Affairs (NSC) is still in the air. The clash between the Minister and MPs started when it became clear that Veldkamp didn’t know what measures against Israel the Cabinet was willing to take.
GroenLinks-PvdA, SP, and Veldkamp’s own NSC, among others, want a complete Dutch trade ban on products from all illegal Israeli settlements in the occupied Palestinian territory. There is also a motion ot stop purchasing defense equipment from Israel.
Before the debate, Veldkamp announced that he was prepared to take new measures against Israel and that the Council of Ministers would discuss it on Friday. He said he was considering a “trade ban on products from illegal settlements.”
But when MPs wanted to know whether the entire Cabinet supported this measure, Veldkamp was unable to answer. He also couldn’t say whether the Ministry of Defense could manage without defense equipment from Israel.
The opposition parties GroenLinks-PvdA, SP, and D66 found this unacceptable. They had come to the debate to make concrete agreements to stop the genocide Israel is committing in the Gaza Strip, the MPs said. “People are dying every day.”
Veldkamp responded by saying that he was annoyed by the polarized debate. “I’m sticking my neck out. I’m committed to all possibilities, nationally and internationally. That’s what I’ve been focusing on these past few weeks,” the Minister said. “Perhaps I haven’t been paying enough attention to the debate in the Netherlands. And that's what irritates me, how the debate is going here. There's too much polarization."
According to the broadcaster, the NSC Minister more or less admitted that he had been pushing the boundaries of what he could achieve politically within the Cabinet. Coalition partner BBB still supports Israel, and the VVD is hesitant to act against the country.
It became painfully clear that Veldkamp did not know what measures the Cabinet is or isn’t willing to implement. He referred to the Cabinet meeting on Friday, where that would be determined.
The debate was halted with nothing achieved, and will continue after Friday’s Council of Ministers. Several motions still need to be voted on, including a motion of no confidence against Veldkamp, a motion urging the Cabinet to recognize the Palestinian State, and a motion to declare a complete boycott of Israel.
