The Dutch House of Representatives plans to interrupt its Summer recess for a committee debate on the humanitarian situation in Gaza, requested by Socialist Party legislator Sarah Dobbe, and supported on Tuesday by a majority of parliamentarians.
A request for a similar debate, made by parliamentarians from the D66, Groen and PvdA (centrist and centre-left parties) had been rejected last week. At the time there was no response from the centre right VVD and CDA parties, while the right-wing PVV, NSC, BBB, and SGP parties voted against it during an email procedure.
Dobbe said the situation has since changed. She cited a letter from outgoing Foreign Minister Caspar Veldkamp on Monday evening stating that two controversial Israeli ministers had been barred from entering the Netherlands, and that the Israeli ambassador had been summoned.
The European Commission proposed on Monday a partial suspension of Israeli participation in the Horizon Europe research programme. Member States have yet to state their position on this proposal.
On Tuesday, following Veldkamp’s announcement of the travel bans, Israel summoned the Dutch ambassador. Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Saar expressed regret that the Netherlands was opting for “open hostility” over a “long-standing friendship” with Israel, and hinted at a possible Israeli counteraction.
The exact date of the committee debate on Gaza is still unclear, as the VVD and CDA parties have requested further information from the European Commission and the cabinet before proceeding.
The two parties want to know the European Commission’s stance and are requesting a cabinet response prior to the debate. They are also awaiting answers to previously submitted written questions. VVD MP Eric van der Burg had inquired, for example, whether food drops could be conducted “if and when desirable."
