Netherlands backs EU bid against Israeli death penalty, restores €19M UNRWA aid fund

The Netherlands has joined Germany, France, Italy, and the United Kingdom in urging Israel not to expand the death penalty while also confirming it will restore 19 million euros in funding to the U.N. agency for Palestinian refugees, two developments announced Monday by Dutch ministers.

Foreign Minister Tom Berendsen said on X that the Netherlands supports the joint European appeal ahead of a vote next week in the Knesset on a proposal that has been criticized by human rights groups. Organizations, including Amnesty International, argue the measure is aimed at Palestinians.

In a joint statement, the European countries voiced concern over the “discriminatory nature” of the proposal. The authors warned that Israel’s commitment to democratic principles would be undermined if the law were adopted, adding: “Rejecting the death penalty is a fundamental value that unites us.” Berendsen reiterated that the Netherlands is “principally opposed to the death penalty.”

Separately, Development Minister Sjoerd Sjoerdsma told the Tweede Kamer that the Netherlands will reinstate its original 19 million-euro subsidy to UNRWA this year. The move reverses a previous decision by the former cabinet to phase out funding following an agreement with SGP and JA21, which had questioned the agency’s neutrality and cited Israeli allegations that some UNRWA staff were involved in the Hamas attack on Israel in October 2023.

The current coalition agreement had already signaled that the funding cut would be undone. In December, GroenLinks-PvdA, D66, and Partij voor de Dieren proposed restoring the subsidy. A vote on Tuesday failed after D66 withdrew its support to secure passage of Sjoerdsma’s budget with backing from JA21 and the PVV. A left-wing amendment to reinstate the funding did not pass.

Immediately after the vote, D66 lawmaker Mpanzu Bamenga submitted parliamentary questions asking when the government would present a plan to fully restore ties with UNRWA, as outlined in the coalition agreement.

JA21 criticized the cabinet’s decision. “Sluw gespeeld door de minister. Niet bevorderlijk voor samenwerking,” the party said, accusing the minister of acting slyly and undermining cooperation.

Sjoerdsma must still secure support in the Eerste Kamer, where the seven parties that backed him in the Tweede Kamer—50PLUS, D66, CDA, VVD, JA21, Lid Keijzer, and PVV—lack a majority. Support from GroenLinks-PvdA could prove decisive; the bloc voted against the budget on Tuesday, saying it would only agree if funding for UNRWA was restored.

Amnesty International welcomed the funding decision, calling UNRWA “the lifeline for Palestinians, which they cannot do without when it comes to education, care, and emergency aid.” The organization maintained it was irresponsible to cut support earlier, “at a time when emergency aid was being blocked by Israel and Palestinians had no choice but to try to survive.”