With the number of deaths in Gaza in continuous increase, an increasingly catastrophic humanitarian situation and Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu who speaks openly about “emptying” the strip from the Palestinians, something seems to be changing in the European position. So far dominated by a silence that has in fact represented a white card for Tel Aviv, now Europe shows the first signs of breakage.
The Dutch government, historically one of Israel’s main allies within the European Union, said that “the measure is full” and that what is happening in the Palestinian territory is “unacceptable”. It is time, he said, to act.
The review of the agreement
While EU foreign ministers meet in Warsaw, Dutch minister Caspar Veltkamp sent a letter to the high representative Kaja Kallas to officially ask for the revision of the EU-Israel Association agreement, denouncing in particular the violation of article 2, which imposes respect for humanitarian law.
The minister also threatened the veto on the extension of the EU-Israel Action Plan, the operational part of the agreement. A veto of the Netherlands would be enough to block it completely. And for Israel it would be a serious blow, considering that the EU is its main commercial partner.
In an interview with the Guardian, Veldkamp defined the Israeli block of humanitarian aid intended for Gaza as a “catastrophic, really painful” and said that it is a clear violation of international humanitarian law.
“The population of the Gaza strip cannot be hungry. It is contrary to international law. It is morally wrong. It is dangerous. And I don’t think it is even in the interest of Israel,” he said.
Something is changing
In the past, Spain and Ireland, the two most Philopalestinian countries of the EU, had asked for a review of the association agreement, then followed by Slovenia, Belgium and Luxembourg. But the Netherlands had always firmly opposed. Its turning point, therefore, marks a significant change and could open the way for a more critical attitude also by countries so far very close to Israel, such as Germany.
The change of line of the Netherlands began after the failure of the attempts to reach a ceasefire. Last month, Amsterdam also exacerbated the restrictions on exports to Israel of double use goods, checking them on a case -by -case basis to prevent them from being used for military purposes.
On the sidelines of a meeting in London with David Lammy, Foreign Minister of the United Kingdom (another country traditionally close to Israel) Veldkamp has reiterated that the Netherlands are “very worried about the current conduction of the war, especially since the end of the ceased on March 18, and for the blocking of humanitarian aid”.
Criticisms in Netanyahu
The minister openly criticized Netanyahu, underlining that “the criticisms in Israel are increasing against the Prime Minister, who does not give enough priority to the liberation of the hostages. He himself has now declared that this is not the absolute priority, because the priority is to fight Hamas”.
“Hamas must immediately release the hostages. He has to lay down the weapons. Hamas cannot be part of the future government of the Gaza Strip,” he added, stressing that this is one of the conditions behind the Egyptian plan for the ceased the fire, which Israel refuses.
Commenting on the arrest warrant for Netanyahu and remembering that the International Court of Justice is based in the Hague, Veltkamp said that the Netherlands feel a particular duty in enforcing its decisions.
“I have no illusion that Hamas never respects international humanitarian law. But from a democracy like Israel we expect different behavior. Democracies fight in a different way, and Israel must respect international humanitarian law,” he said.
“With the latest declarations of Israeli ministers, such as Minister Smotrich who said he wants to completely destroy the Gaza Strip, we can no longer ignore these words. I say it as a person who feels close to Israel and from former ambassador: this is not a sustainable policy, and it is time to work for peace”, concluded Veltkamp.
