Veldkamp resigned after failing to persuade the interim coalition government to impose further sanctions on Israel. He told reporters after the cabinet meeting: "We have taken a series of steps against Israel, and for that the Netherlands should be ashamed."
He added, "I felt pressure from other members of the government regarding what is happening in Gaza and the West Bank, and this situation does not allow me to continue my duties as foreign minister." The minister indicated that this situation will not change in the near term, explaining that he has returned home to draft his resignation letter.
Meanwhile, the remaining ministers of the New Social Contract party, to which Veldkamp belongs, also submitted their resignations, according to the Dutch news website NOS. The party has nine members in the government, including a deputy prime minister, three ministers, and four ministers of state.
Veldkamp had previously called in parliamentary meetings for additional measures and sanctions against Israel, but other parties in the coalition government, such as the People's Party for Freedom and Democracy and the Farmers' and Citizens' Movement, said they had not been offered any such steps.
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For its part, Hamas praised the wave of resignations on Saturday, describing them as a "courageous and moral stance," considering them a reflection of a commitment to humanitarian values and international law and a clear message of the need for international action to halt the Israeli aggression against innocent civilians in Gaza, especially in light of the famine declared by the United Nations.
Hamas called on world governments to assume their moral and political responsibilities, impose deterrent sanctions on Israel, and take immediate action to stop the massacres and lift the siege on the Palestinian people.
With American support, Israel has been committing genocide in Gaza since October 7, 2023, including killing, starvation, destruction, and forced displacement, ignoring all international calls and orders from the International Court of Justice to halt it.
The Israeli genocide left 62,622 Palestinians dead and 157,673 injured, most of them children and women. More than 9,000 people are missing, and hundreds of thousands are displaced.
