Opinion | Frans Timmermans: ‘Silence and looking away about Gaza is no longer possible’

Anyone who sees embraced children for food, whoever hears that children now eat grass, who, after seeing the images of fifteen murdered care providers, still looks away and is still not willing to address the responsible person for this walk, after this controller has already sinned many times to war crimes, which makes a historical error and Veronacht.

As part of the room did, including the VVD, last Tuesday during a debate about the situation in the Middle East. It would not make any sense to increase the pressure on Israel through sanctions. Netanyahu will not admit a millimeter.

But if it makes no sense, why does the Israeli ambassador react if a wasp stung as Minister Veldkamp (Foreign Affairs, NSC) asks for a European investigation into the Israeli violations of international law?

If the Dutch position did not matter, he would ignore it. In fact, if the mayor of Amsterdam denounces the abuses, including the genocidal violence, the same ambassador responds to her address, to Amsterdam and the Amsterdammers with gross and very inappropriate allegations. He will have to be addressed by Minister Veldkamp. The Netherlands does not have to pick this from any ambassador, not even the Israeli.

War crimes in Gaza

Also the parties in the room that is always supporting Israel through thick and thin, can no longer remain silent and look away, now Netanyahu continues to commit war crimes in Gaza. Parties, including the VVD that rightly not run a chance to condemn Iran hard or the Syria of Assad or any other reprehensible regime. Then the question is not asked whether it will work out, then the Netherlands should simply stand up for the human rights that are violated, even if the effect will not be immediately visible. But when it comes to Israel, those parties will remain silent in all keys, because it would not do anything. Even now a number of leading legal experts in NRC Saying: this is genocide.

No meaningful person can still claim that what Netanyahu is now still aim to eliminate Hamas. You only have to listen to the Netanyahu party or the ministers in his cabinet to know that the goal is now to expel all Palestinians from Gaza and getting Gaza entirely under Israeli control – which also seems to be the plan with the Western Jordoever. Moreover, by silence you do not give any support to the people in Israel who fear their loved ones in hostage, who want to stop destroying the entire Gaza Strip, who oppose the dismantling of the Democratic constitutional state in Israel by Netanyahu and his extreme right -wing coalition. The many demonstrators who take to the streets in Israel then let you stand in the cold. Not to mention the whole getting out of sight of a sustainable peace in the Middle East.

Double standards

Anyone who uses so obviously double standards loses credibility towards their own population whose support for Ukraine is trying to keep himself out of war Putin. But we also lose international credibility due to the obvious use of double standards; This plays Putin in the map and weakens the position of Ukraine. Blowing high from the tower on international law and the shame of war crimes, while in other violations of law and obvious war crimes is silent and looked away, undermines any form of moral and political authority. It is the umpteenth flagrant violation of the agreements put on paper by the coalition about the democratic constitutional state.

Wilders will be the sausage, the bombing, starving, the ethnic cleansing, it is all fine in his eyes. But the silence and looking away from the VVD in particular is indigestible.

While the situation is completely untenable and indefensible, the Netherlands does nothing to actually put pressure on Netanyahu, nothing to respond to the growing horror among the Dutch population about the unbearable suffering of innocent people, including so many children in Gaza. Nothing to finally get the EU to stop using double standards when it comes to Israel. Nothing because Wilders and Yesilgöz stop every step in the right direction.

Color

It is still not too late for the VVD to confess color and clearly speak out against the Wandaden of Netanyahu and to connect consequences for relations with Israel. The EU is Israel’s largest trading partner – is therefore the affordable access of Israeli products to the European market. The Netherlands still exports weapons to Israel and still buys many millions in Israeli weapons – Stop with that. We still buy products from the illegal settlements on the West Bank – forbid them. And freeze the funds and forbid the entry of the first responsible ministers Netanyahu, Smotrich, Ben-Gvir and others.

The VVD can help those proposals to a majority if it distances himself from the blind Netanyahu trouw of Wilders. If it chooses the Netherlands and the values ​​that Dutch people embrace in a large majority and want to see politicians propagated by us. Let those who have so many innocent victims on conscience do not get away with it. Silence and looking away are no longer an option. The red line is far exceeded.

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