The Dutch government announced on Monday stricter licensing procedures for weapons exports to Israel, which the Dutch foreign minister accused of war crimes in Gaza.
The minister, Caspar Veldkamp, and Trade Minister Reinette Klever announced the new procedure in a letter to parliament a day after Veldkamp, asked by a journalist whether Israel had violated laws against war crimes, replied, “It appears so.”
The letter said two types of permits “have been amended to exclude Israel as a country of final destination. The government is taking this step to be able to test all transactions of strategic goods to Israel before export and transit against the European frameworks for export and transit of military goods and dual-use goods. This is desirable given the security situation in Israel, the Palestinian Territories and the wider region.”
The decision means that Dutch exporters that were able to ship items to Israel under a general permit may need to ask the government for individual export permits for some items to Israel. The Netherlands provides Israel with some items for the maintenance and upgrades of the U.S.-made F-35 fighter jet.
Anti-Israel organizations, including Pax Christi, celebrated the move and demanded tougher actions against Israel. Geert Wilders, the leader of the Party for Freedom, the country’s largest political movement and a senior coalition partner, reacted to their calls in the media by posting on X a picture of his meeting with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in Israel. Wilders wrote the single word “Israel” followed by a heart emoji.
In the interview with the NPO broadcaster, Veldkamp suggested Israel had committed war crimes in answering a question about the March 23 incident that led to the deaths in southern Gaza of at least 14 Palestinians, including several first responders. A top-level Israel Defense Forces probe into the case confirmed that at least six of the fatalities were identified by the military as Hamas terrorists.
