Half of voters want the Cabinet to take a more critical stance towards Israel

It has been almost a year since the war between Israel and Hamas broke out in the Gaza Strip. The Netherlands should maintain a more critical stance towards Israel, Dutch voters said in a survey conducted by Ipsos I&O on behalf of the newspaper de Volkskrant.

Half of Dutch voters want a stricter stance toward Israel. This is not only the call of left-wing voters. Critical voices from the conservative camp, such as the NSC and the VVD, also want the government to take a more critical stance towards Israel.

Of the 968 respondents, 47 percent stated that the Netherlands should be more critical. 16 percent of voters agree with the current policy of the Dutch government, while 9 percent think that the Netherlands should be more supportive of Israel. However, over a quarter, around 28 percent, have no opinion on the subject.

Many voters who want a tougher stance on Israel's actions in the war generally consider Israel's backlash to be disproportionate," says researcher Peter Kanne. In addition, they are also concerned by the casualty figures on the Palestinian side. These are some of the main reasons why many voters in the Netherlands are dissatisfied with the stance of the current Cabinet.

In any case, support for the Cabinet's stance has steadily declined since the Hamas attack. While almost a quarter of voters, 24 percent, were still satisfied with the Netherlands' stance on the war shortly after October 7, this figure had fallen to just 17 percent in September 2024.

However, the survey also revealed that although Dutch voters would like to see more criticism of Israel, they also understand the situation in which Israel finds itself. Accordingly, Hamas is seen as the main culprit for the war. However, half of the voters in the survey also stated that Israel and Prime Minister Netanyahu are responsible for the conflict.

What the majority of voters do agree on, however, is that the war is polarizing Dutch society, which is only exacerbating the fronts and the way people treat each other. For example, respondents to the survey are concerned about an increase in anti-Semitism.

Despite concerns about discrimination and polarization as a result of the war in the Middle East, the survey shows that attention to the issue is steadily decreasing, and concern is also waning slightly, de Volkskrant reports.