Dutch Foreign Min., Wilders pressing charges over Israel leaks
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs is pressing charges over the leak of confidential diplomatic documents about the situation in the Gaza Strip and Minister Caspar Veldkamp’s now-canceled visit to Israel. On Thursday, PVV leader Geert Wilders also announced that he was pressing charges over an information leak revealing his plan to visit illegal Israeli settlements on the West Bank.
Veldkamp told ANP that he was “extremely concerned” about three recent leaks.
On Thursday, it emerged during a parliamentary debate that GroenLinks-PvdA MP Kati Piri was aware of Veldkamp’s planned trip to Israel and when that would happen, while the entire plan was still a secret. “I will have a further investigation done into how my trip could have come to light,” the Minister said on Friday.
Also on Thursday, RTL Nieuws published documents showing that the Netherlands was dithering about sanctions against Israeli Ministers while diplomats were describing the situation in Gaza as “unprecedented in terms of human suffering” and a “nightmare” of “starvation” and “17,000 children wandering around without guardians.”
The documents leaked to the broadcaster showed that the Dutch government addressed Israel about the situation in Gaza, but did not want to offend the Israeli government too much.
Veldkamp told ANP that he was disappointed by the frequent leaks from his Ministry, but denied that he did not trust his civil servants.
On Thursday, PVV leader Wilders also announced that he was pressing charges over the leak of his plans to visit Israel. NRC reported last week that Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s party had invited the far-right Dutch politician to visit illegal Israeli settlements in the occupied West Bank. Remarkably, Wilders only stirred himself about this leak after plans for Veldkamp’s Israel trip leaked.
Wilders called the leak “unacceptable” on X, saying that the plans leaked shortly after the Israeli embassy was informed about his trip.
After Veldkamp’s trip to Israel got canceled, Wilders indicated that he still intended to visit his “friend Netanyahu.”
