3 months Ago
He insisted that a cease-fire was the only means of allaying the release of hostages from "Hamas claws," to introduce humanitarian assistance in Gaza, and put an end to what he called "this horrible war."
Thank you for the follow-up and rejecting some MPs' call for more sanctions, but Veldkamp felt like he couldn't "keep adding new measures after every shot that is fired."
It would be more effective to take the proper measures regarding certain restrictions on trade, insisted the minister. The Netherlands has already gone further than certain other countries by sanctioning two Israeli ministers and halting arms exports, he said.
The comments came as German Chancellor Friedrich Merz warned Berlin would quash any military exports that could be used in Gaza, and called on Israel to halt plans for annexing the West Bank.
Gaza violence prompts licence ban
Last month, Veldkamp confirmed that three licences had been withdrawn to export naval ship components to Israel. He described the step as "unprecedented," which was taken amid the deteriorating situation in Gaza and to avoid a risk of "undesirable end use."
The Dutch government has granted eight export licences for military goods to Israel since the Hamas attacks on Israel in October 2023, including parts for the Iron Dome missile defence system, in addition to the three licences that were recently cancelled. The same time frame saw 11 applications denied.
Under mounting pressure, the Netherlands is still failing to halt exports of specially trained dogs to Israel. That followed earlier this year when it was revealed to the public that Facebook ultimately intended to develop some kind of civilian missions record, even though the concern related at the time to potential usage by the Israeli military for human rights abuses.
While the Gaza conflict continues, there is still a political debate in the Netherlands concerning arms and export-related issues to Israel.
