⚡️🇳🇱 NEW - Dutch foreign minister Caspar Veldkamp resigned Friday after cabinet colleagues blocked his push for tougher sanctions against Israel, including a proposed boycott on products from illegal West Bank settlements. They argued such a boycott should only be taken at the European level. Some flatly opposed new measures.

“I felt resistance in the cabinet against more measures as a result of what is happening in Gaza City and the occupied West Bank… I saw efforts to meet me halfway, but in the end the concessions were insufficient… I have too little confidence that in the coming weeks and months I could act responsibly… if I am restricted from pursuing the policy I deem necessary. I am going home to write my resignation letter,” he told reporters.

Within hours, his entire party — the New Social Contract (NSC), including four other ministers — also quit, warning that Israel’s actions violate international law. Until now, Dutch action has been limited to symbolic entry bans on far-right Israeli ministers Itamar Ben-Gvir and Bezalel Smotrich. A parliamentary majority also shot down a proposal to halt Israeli arms sales for the Dutch military yesterday. (DropSite)