Dutch Foreign Minister Caspar Veldkamp resigned on August 23 after failing to convince the caretaker cabinet to impose sanctions on "Israel." His departure deepens the political turmoil already facing the Netherlands, which has been governed by a weakened caretaker administration since June, following the collapse of the Schoof cabinet.

The four-party coalition, comprising the far-right Party for Freedom (PVV), the center-right People’s Party for Freedom and Democracy (VVD), the populist Farmer-Citizen Movement (BBB), and Veldkamp’s centrist New Social Contract (NSC), was unstable from the outset. The exit of Geert Wilders’ PVV earlier this year left the government without a Senate majority, exposing it to constant political deadlock.

Veldkamp’s resignation came just one day after UN-backed experts confirmed famine conditions in Gaza City and its surrounding areas, where more than half a million people face catastrophic food insecurity. The Integrated Food Security Phase Classification described the situation as “entirely man-made.”

At the same time, "Israel’s" approval of the E1 settlement expansion, 3,400 homes in the occupied West Bank, sparked widespread condemnation from 21 countries and the EU. Critics say the project would effectively bisect the territory and make the establishment of a future Palestinian state impossible.

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Veldkamp’s proposed sanctions

A former ambassador to "Israel," Veldkamp pushed for tougher measures against the entity, including an embargo on goods produced in illegal settlements, a ban on weapons purchases from "Israel," pushing for the suspension of the EU association agreement with "Israel," and travel bans on far-right Israeli ministers Itamar Ben-Gvir and Bezalel Smotrich (already enacted in July).

Despite mass protests in The Hague in June, where up to 150,000 demonstrators demanded action against "Israel’s" war on Gaza, the cabinet refused to adopt additional sanctions. Veldkamp said he was "insufficiently able to take meaningful additional measures," and announced his resignation shortly after.

Mounting public pressure

The Netherlands has witnessed unprecedented public mobilization in solidarity with Gaza. The June rally in The Hague was the largest in 20 years, underscoring popular frustration with government inaction. Demonstrators called for sanctions, recognition of Palestinian statehood, and an end to Dutch involvement in military cooperation with "Israel".

Yet parliament rejected motions to recognize Palestine, boycott settlement products, or halt weapons purchases. Instead, lawmakers approved only limited steps such as urging "Israel" to grant journalists access to Gaza and pressing for "maximum pressure" on countries supporting the Palestinian Resistance group, Hamas. 

Veldkamp’s resignation highlights the broader challenges facing European governments in balancing domestic political pressures with international obligations, particularly amid growing outrage over the genocide in Gaza and "Israel’s" settlement expansion.