By: Andrew Carlson

The Dutch government was thrust deeper into political turmoil on Friday after Foreign Minister Caspar Veldkamp tendered his resignation, citing his inability to marshal Cabinet consensus around new punitive measures against Israel. His abrupt departure, followed within hours by the resignation of four additional ministers from his New Social Contract (NSC) party, has left the caretaker coalition severely weakened and underscored the widening rift within Europe over how to confront Israel amid its ongoing war against Hamas.

As reported by the Jewish News Syndicate (JNS) on Saturday, Veldkamp told Dutch media that he could no longer fulfill his duties effectively given the mounting resistance from colleagues in the Cabinet. “I see that I am insufficiently able to take meaningful additional measures to increase pressure on Israel,” Veldkamp said, according to the Dutch news service ANP, after a tense Cabinet debate ended without resolution. His resignation, announced barely 24 hours later, crystallized the paralysis inside The Hague’s corridors of power.

Veldkamp’s exit caps months of escalating confrontation with his colleagues and with pro-Israel voices in Dutch politics. Only weeks earlier, the minister declared Israeli National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir and Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich persona non grata in the Netherlands, a move that was sharply criticized by both Israeli officials and Dutch lawmakers supportive of Israel.

As the JNS report noted, Veldkamp openly expressed doubts last Thursday about his ability to implement the policies he deemed necessary, including economic and diplomatic reprisals. His plans reportedly included the advancement of a unilateral boycott on goods produced by Jewish communities in Judea and Samaria. That proposal encountered stiff opposition from Cabinet members, some of whom argued that such measures could only be undertaken at the European Union level, while others rejected them outright as both impractical and politically inflammatory.

“I feel constrained in setting the course I consider necessary as foreign minister,” Veldkamp admitted, according to AFP reports cited by JNS.

The fallout from Veldkamp’s resignation was immediate. Four other NSC ministers quickly followed his lead, resigning in protest and leaving Prime Minister Dick Schoof’s caretaker government propped up only by the centrist People’s Party for Freedom and Democracy (VVD) and the Farmer-Citizen Movement (BBB). The government has been operating in a precarious caretaker capacity since collapsing on June 3, after Geert Wilders’s Party for Freedom (PVV) withdrew over immigration policy disputes.

As the JNS report observed, the implosion of Veldkamp’s faction further destabilizes the coalition just weeks before an October 29 snap election, sharpening the stakes for Dutch voters and intensifying the polarization over Israel policy.

The schism in The Hague reflects a larger fragmentation across Europe regarding Israel and the Palestinians. Earlier this month, the Dutch government declared it would not recognize a Palestinian state “at this time,” even as it leveled harsh criticism against Israel for failing to conduct what it described as a “just war” against Hamas.

This measured stance contrasts sharply with signals from other major European capitals. France and Britain have already indicated they will recognize a Palestinian state in September unless the conflict in Gaza concludes, while Canada and Australia have floated similar timelines under conditional terms.

As JNS reported, Veldkamp’s push to escalate Dutch policy against Israel was partly rooted in these broader European trends. He framed his resignation as the result of being boxed in by colleagues unwilling to align the Netherlands with what he saw as the necessary hard line against Jerusalem.

Just one day before Veldkamp’s resignation, the Netherlands joined 20 other nations in condemning Israel’s approval of a major housing project in Judea, branding the decision “unacceptable and contrary to international law.” The statement, covered widely by European media and cited in the JNS report, signaled coordinated European disapproval of settlement expansion even as individual states remain divided on recognition of Palestinian statehood.

Veldkamp’s critics in Israel, meanwhile, argued that his fixation on punitive measures distorted the historical record and emboldened Israel’s enemies. His proposal to promote a boycott of Jewish goods from Judea and Samaria was seen in Jerusalem as an alarming echo of the international boycotts of Jewish businesses in prewar Europe, according to commentary relayed by JNS.

The same week Veldkamp resigned, the Dutch House of Representatives overwhelmingly adopted a resolution sponsored by the Party for Freedom (PVV), the nationalist party led by Geert Wilders. The resolution declared unequivocally that Hamas “must be completely destroyed.” Wilders, one of Europe’s most vocal pro-Israel politicians, published the declaration on X, dated August 21, underlining the ideological chasm between his camp and Veldkamp’s.

According to the JNS report, Wilders has long championed pro-Israel causes, calling for the Dutch embassy to be moved to Jerusalem and labeling Hamas not merely as an adversary but as an existential threat that must be eradicated. His PVV, which stunned Europe with a surprise victory in the November 2023 general election, initially joined the coalition only to later withdraw. Yet his pro-Israel stance remains influential, shaping parliamentary debates even in the absence of formal coalition membership.

The trajectory of Veldkamp’s tenure is laden with irony. As the JNS report pointed out, the Dutch government formed after the 2023 elections was initially described as the “most pro-Israel in the history of the Netherlands,” with promises to move the embassy to Jerusalem and deepen ties with the Jewish state. Yet under Veldkamp, the Netherlands soon became one of the most vocal critics of Israel within the European Union.

In November, Veldkamp drew international ire by hosting his Iranian counterpart in The Hague, just days after announcing that his government would suspend “non-essential” contacts with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. For many observers, this symbolized a diplomatic volte-face that undermined decades of traditionally strong Dutch-Israeli relations.

The resignation drama coincided with emergency debates in the Dutch House of Representatives, where lawmakers were recalled from summer recess to deliberate the escalating crisis in Gaza. Emotions ran high, with sharp divisions not only between parties but within them. Pro-Israel lawmakers lambasted the foreign minister’s direction, arguing that his punitive policies misrepresented Dutch interests and betrayed the Jewish state, while left-wing deputies echoed Veldkamp’s calls for greater pressure on Israel.

The JNS report observed that the debates underscored how Israel policy has now become one of the defining issues of Dutch domestic politics, shaping the platforms of parties across the ideological spectrum.

Veldkamp’s thwarted push for sanctions and boycotts also highlighted the legal and institutional boundaries surrounding such policies. Cabinet colleagues reminded him that unilateral Dutch boycotts could only be viable at the EU level, and that efforts to impose national sanctions risked both legal challenge and trade retaliation.

As the JNS report explained, this structural limitation left Veldkamp increasingly isolated, unable to deliver the measures he had championed. His resignation thus becomes emblematic of the broader difficulty European states face in crafting a unified approach to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.

With the October 29 snap elections looming, Veldkamp’s resignation may prove pivotal. For the Dutch electorate, the collapse of the NSC’s representation in government is both a symptom of and a contributor to the broader volatility in Dutch politics. It leaves pro-Israel parties like PVV better positioned to present themselves as the defenders of Jewish interests, while left-leaning factions will likely capitalize on Veldkamp’s martyr-like portrayal as a minister thwarted in his attempts to hold Israel accountable.

According to the information provided in the JNS report, the broader implications for Europe are also significant. Veldkamp’s downfall underscores the impossibility of forging consensus within Europe on punitive measures against Israel. While France and Britain prepare to recognize Palestinian statehood, the Netherlands now finds itself paralyzed, its government weakened, and its electorate divided.

The resignation of Dutch Foreign Minister Caspar Veldkamp is more than an isolated political crisis in The Hague; it is emblematic of Europe’s fracture over Israel, Hamas, and the future of Palestinian statehood. As JNS reported, Veldkamp left office lamenting his inability to drive through measures that many in his Cabinet considered counterproductive or unlawful. His exit, coupled with the resignations of his NSC colleagues, leaves the caretaker government in tatters and sets the stage for an election that may redefine the Netherlands’ place in the European debate over Israel.

For Israel, the departure of its fiercest critic in the EU may bring temporary relief, though the broader tide of European disunity remains a source of concern. For the Dutch Jewish community, it highlights once again that their security, identity, and relationship with Israel remain inextricably intertwined with the shifting sands of Dutch politics.