The Dutch Labour Party and the Greens apologised on Thursday after receiving a lot of criticism for supporting a parliament motion that underlined Israel’s right to self-defence in its conflict with Palestine.
The motion, which had been submitted by conservative Calvinist lawmaker Chris Stoffer (SGP/ECR), called on the Dutch cabinet to express its support for Israel’s right to self-defence in the EU and UN context.
The allied Labour (PvdA/S&D) and Green (GL/EU Greens) parties subsequently caught a lot of flak for having supported the motion, with many criticising the motion for stating that compliance with humanitarian law is “greatly complicated by the asymmetric nature of this war”.
“It was never our intention to trivialise violations of international humanitarian law or to formulate exceptions to them. We should have made a different choice here,” the allied parties stated in a press release.
“The only reason we supported the motion was because all sides should be able to count on humanitarian support if necessary. We gave a vote explanation reiterating our position and explaining that we disagreed with some of the considerations in motions we voted for,” they added.
The two parties have been embroiled in internal conflicts over their stance on the Israeli-Palestinian conflict for the past two weeks. Several members of the Greens expressed their displeasure with the joint list’s top candidate, former EU climate chief Frans Timmermans, whom they criticised for adopting a staunchly pro-Israel stance in the aftermath of the Hamas terror attacks on the country.
Both parties attempted to display unity during a joint party congress last week, where they presented a joint motion calling on the cabinet to “push for international and regional initiatives for de-escalation” and humanitarian access to the Gaza Strip while “ending the illegal occupation of the West Bank” and “working towards a lasting peace through a just two-state solution with equal rights for all populations”.
The motion was also slammed by parties who voted against it in parliament.
“D66 voted against this motion. Of course, Israel is allowed to protect its citizens. We should offer medical aid, and not a penny of aid should go to Hamas. But the suggestion that Israel does not have to comply fully with the law of war is unacceptable,” tweeted D66 (Renew) lawmaker Sjoerd Sjoerdsma.
Sjoerdsma also criticised outgoing Prime Minister Mark Rutte (VVD/Renew) for his unconditional support of Israel, stating that “[Rutte] should also be highly critical of the fact that Israel is collectively punishing Gazans by withholding water, food and electricity from Gaza”.
The Israeli-Palestinian conflict will be debated again in the Dutch parliament next week as Rutte prepares for an EU summit on the crisis.
(Benedikt Stöckl | Euractiv.com)
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