Voters increasingly dissatisfied with Dutch government's Israel policy

Dutch voters are steadily growing more and more dissatisfied with the Schoof Cabinet’s policy on Israel and the country’s continued attacks on Gaza. 27 percent of voters now “completely disagree” with the Netherlands’ determined focus on diplomacy only, compared to 19 percent in September, the Volkskrant reported based on research by Ipsos I&O.

Those who still support the government’s line “to a limited extent” also increasingly want a different policy towards the ongoing slaughter in Gaza, the research agency found. 54 percent of voters want the Cabinet to be more critical of Israel, compared to 47 percent six months ago.

Ipsos I&O conducted this survey in the second week of April, shortly after it was revealed that Israel had killed 15 Palestinian aid workers. Their bodies were found in a mass grave near the city of Rafah, next to their vandalized ambulances. Israel claimed that the convoy had been driving around suspiciously and without lights, but that quickly proved untrue when video footage of the mass shooting emerged.

Minister Caspar Veldkamp of Foreign Affairs summoned the Israeli ambassador for an explanation, but it later turned out in parliament that he had left that conversation to a high-ranking civil servant because he had “the most ready knowledge.” That surprised many, because Veldkamp was the Dutch ambassador to Israel for four years.

But according to Ipsos I&O researcher Peter Kanne, voters’ growing dissatisfaction can’t be pinned to a single event. It's “the accumulation” of Israel breaking the ceasefire and the lack of a diplomatic way out “which makes people powerless and angry,” he told the Volkskrant. The growing death toll in Gaza also plays a role.

As of 20 April 2025, Israeli attacks have killed at least 51,157 people in Gaza, including at least 17,400 children, Al Jazeera reported based on the latest figures from the Palestinian Ministry of Health. At least 116,724 people are hurt. The unrelenting attacks were prompted by Hamas terrorist attacks on Israel on 7 October 2023, in which 1,139 people were killed.

At the start of the war, 45 percent of the Dutch held Hamas fully responsible for the bloodshed, and 23 percent placed the blame on Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. Now, 40 percent of Dutch voters blame Netanyahu and 31 percent blame Hamas.

Voters are also not deaf and blind to aid organizations’ criticism of the Dutch government, Kanne told the newspaper. After meeting with Prime Minister Dick Schoof and Veldkamp two weeks ago, Oxfam Novib, Save the Children, Doctors Without Borders, Pax, and Amnesty International dispaired of the Dutch government insistence to stick to diplomacy. They pointed out the Netherlands’ double standards. In other conflicts, such as Myanmar, Ukraine, and Syria, the Dutch government was quick to impose consequences for violating the international legal order. But in Gaza, diplomacy is all it will do.