Political crisis

The Netherlands, the government splits over sanctions on Israel. Foreign Minister resigns

The other members of the New Social Contract also quit, accentuating the fragility of the Schoof government two months before the vote

by Angelica Migliorisi

23 August 2025

Il ministro degli esteri uscente dei Paesi Bassi Caspar Veldkamp (Foto di Sem van der Wal / ANP / AFP)

3' min read

Key points

The Spark
Veldkamp's (failed) plan
The cracks in the coalition and the caretaker factor
Moves (already made) to Israel
Pressure from below
Humanitarian Emergency and the Time of Politics
What happens now

3' min read

An armchair is worth less than a principle. Dutch Foreign MinisterCaspar Veldkamp resigned after his government, already in caretaker version - resigning, remaining in office only to handle business as usual until new elections and the formation of a new executive - again rejected the idea of sanctions against Israel. "I have encountered resistance in the Council of Ministers for additional measures", said Veldkamp, 61, a former ambassador to Israel, explaining that he was "unable to take significant measures" in response to the war in Gaza and new settlement plans in the West Bank. With him, the other ministers of the New Social Contract (NSC) also left the executive, exacerbating the fragility of the interim government led by Dick Schoof, in anticipation of the early elections on 29 October.

The Spark

The break comes on the heels of a joint statement signed by the foreign ministers of more than 20 Western countries (including the UK, France, Italy, Canada, Japan and, indeed, the Netherlands) that condemned "in the strongest terms" the Israeli approval of the E1 project: 3,400 new homes between Ma'ale Adumim and East Jerusalem, a building corridor that critics said would "break the West Bank in two", compromising the territorial contiguity of a Palestinian state. The Hague was among the signatories.

Veldkamp's (failed) plan

In the government debate Veldkamp had advocated a package of national measures, starting with the import ban on products from settlements in occupied territories. However, the proposal, the Associated Press reports, failed to pass the scrutiny of the coalition partners, forcing him to resign. 'I feel that I can no longer chart the course that I consider necessary,' was his sentence.

The cracks in the coalition and the caretaker factor

After the exit in June of Geert Wilders' Party for Freedom (PVV) - far-right, nationalist and populist - the Schoof executive was left standing in business as usual with VVD (liberals), NSC (centrists) and BBB (agrarianists). A demissionary government avoids major choices, which is one of the reasons why - apart from cross-vetoes - the sanctions dossier has not found an outlet. The first rift, caused by the tug-of-war over migration policies, has already led to the calling of early elections for 29 October. Veldkamp's resignation and the exit of the NSC ministers increase the rift, leaving the executive even more exposed until the vote.

The moves (already made) towards Israel

In recent weeks, The Hague had however tightened its posture: in July an entry ban was imposed on the extreme right-wing Israeli ministers Itamar Ben-Gvir and Bezalel Smotrich, a move coordinated with other European countries. Diplomatically, the Schoof executive also joined the declaration against E1. However, the most incisive measures - such as the ban on settlement goods - stalled at the Council of Ministers table.

Pressure from below

The Israel-Gaza issue also burns outside the palaces. In June, between 100 and 150 thousand people marched in The Hague, in the largest demonstration in the Netherlands in twenty years, demanding an arms embargo on Israel and sanctions for violations of international law. The square made itself heard again in the hours of the government crisis, in support of the hard line proposed by the NSC.

Humanitarian Emergency and the Time of Politics

Veldkamp's decision came on the day that the IPC - the independent international instrument, supported by UN agencies, governmental organisations and NGOs, which serves to assess and communicate in a standardised way the severity of food crises and hunger in a country or region - formally declared the famine in Gaza City and the surrounding area to be an 'entirely man-made' disaster, with the risk of an exponential increase in deaths without a ceasefire and humanitarian access. In the background, the new Israeli offensive on Gaza City and the announcement of the E1 project in the West Bank. Elements that prompted NSC to accuse VVD and BBB of "failing to recognise the gravity of the situation and refusing to act".

Confermata per la prima volta la carestia a Gaza City

What happens now

PM Schoof will report to parliament to define the scope of the government's action until the vote. With NSC out of the executive, governing in 'ordinary administration' becomes even more complicated for the VVD Liberals and the BBB, especially on sensitive foreign dossiers. In Brussels, the Netherlands has often pushed for common solutions (sanctions require unanimity in foreign and security policy). Now, the minister's exit and the internal fracas risk reducing the Dutch negotiating weight in the Foreign Affairs Council, just as more than 20 capitals seek a coordinated response to E1.