The Netherlands Wants to Force a Review of EU Ties with Israel as Concerns Grow Over Gaza 

23 July 2024, Berlin: Netherlands' Foreign Minister Caspar Veldkamp speaks during a press conference in Berlin. (dpa) 
23 July 2024, Berlin: Netherlands' Foreign Minister Caspar Veldkamp speaks during a press conference in Berlin. (dpa) 
TT
20

The Netherlands Wants to Force a Review of EU Ties with Israel as Concerns Grow Over Gaza 

23 July 2024, Berlin: Netherlands' Foreign Minister Caspar Veldkamp speaks during a press conference in Berlin. (dpa) 
23 July 2024, Berlin: Netherlands' Foreign Minister Caspar Veldkamp speaks during a press conference in Berlin. (dpa) 

Dutch Foreign Minister Caspar Veldkamp said Wednesday that the Netherlands is "drawing a line in the sand" over Israel’s actions in Gaza and is insisting on a review of a European Union pact governing trade ties with the country.

Israeli strikes across Gaza killed at least 59 people on Wednesday, including women and children, hospital officials said, as Israel prepares to ramp up its campaign against Hamas in a devastating war now entering its 20th month.

With Israel blocking any form of aid — including food and medicine – into Gaza for the past two months, aid groups have warned that Gaza’s civilian population is facing starvation.

Veldkamp expressed concern that Israel’s blockade on food and aid entering Gaza continues, that Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu wants to intensify the war and that some ministers have suggested that Israel should occupy the territory.

Speaking at a meeting of EU foreign ministers in Warsaw, Veldkamp said that the Netherlands is "drawing a line in the sand because the situation in the Gaza Strip is dismal, a catastrophic humanitarian situation."

Once a strong backer of Israel, the Netherlands has taken an increasingly tougher line in recent months.

"The chances for a new ceasefire have become very, very limited," Veldkamp said. "In view of the humanitarian situation in the Gaza Strip and action of the Israeli authorities, which go against international humanitarian law, I believe that this signal has to be given."

Ties between the EU and Israel — which are major trading partners — are governed by a so-called Association Agreement. It stipulates that their ties "shall be based on respect for human rights and democratic principles."

The Dutch government intends to block the agreement pending an EU review into whether the Israeli government is complying with the pact, which entered force in 2000.

Israel’s offensive has killed more than 52,000 people in Gaza, many of them women and children, according to Palestinian health officials. The officials do not distinguish between combatants and civilians in their count.

The war began when Hamas-led fighters attacked southern Israel, killing 1,200 people and taking about 250 hostages. Israel blames Hamas for the rising death toll in Gaza because it operates from civilian infrastructure, including schools.

The latest bloodshed came days after Israel approved a plan to intensify its operations in the Palestinian enclave. It would include seizing Gaza, holding on to captured territories, forcibly displacing Palestinians to southern Gaza and taking control of aid distribution along with private security companies.

Israel is also calling up tens of thousands of reserve soldiers to carry out the plan.

Other ministers were also worried about developments in Gaza.

Belgian Foreign Minister Maxime Prévot said that "it’s time for the European Union and for the whole international community to wake up. Honestly, what we are seeing is an absolute shame. It’s not acceptable."

Luxembourg Foreign Minister Xavier Bettel said he had spent a lot of time in the region in recent months, but that his pleas to Israel to show restraint have fallen on deaf ears.

"I have the feeling they’re listening to no one. I fully understand they have pressure, and Hamas, and they still have hostages. But we have to be around the table to see how we can find solutions," Bettel told reporters.

"We need to find a solution on that and not to give the impression to the Palestinians that at the end of the day, they won’t exist anymore, neither as a country nor as population," he said.

Bettel and his EU counterparts are expected to discuss the Dutch initiative on Thursday, but it’s unclear whether the 27-nation bloc will take a stand. Last year, Ireland and Spain tried to press their EU partners to examine whether Israel has broken the rules.

The EU is deeply divided over how to respond to the conflict, and it holds little leverage over Israel. Austria, Germany and Hungary have tended to back the Israeli government, while Ireland and Spain have been more vocal in their support for the Palestinians.



Zelenskiy Says He Wants Half Ukraine’s Weapons to Be Produced Domestically

Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelenskiy inspects newest samples of military equipment and weapons, amid Russia's attack on Ukraine, in Kyiv region, Ukraine, April 13, 2024. (Ukrainian Presidential Press Service/Handout via Reuters)
Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelenskiy inspects newest samples of military equipment and weapons, amid Russia's attack on Ukraine, in Kyiv region, Ukraine, April 13, 2024. (Ukrainian Presidential Press Service/Handout via Reuters)
TT
20

Zelenskiy Says He Wants Half Ukraine’s Weapons to Be Produced Domestically

Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelenskiy inspects newest samples of military equipment and weapons, amid Russia's attack on Ukraine, in Kyiv region, Ukraine, April 13, 2024. (Ukrainian Presidential Press Service/Handout via Reuters)
Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelenskiy inspects newest samples of military equipment and weapons, amid Russia's attack on Ukraine, in Kyiv region, Ukraine, April 13, 2024. (Ukrainian Presidential Press Service/Handout via Reuters)

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy said on Wednesday that he was counting on his new incoming government to take measures to boost the proportion of weapons made at home to 50% within six months.

Zelenskiy has carried out a political reshuffle this week, nominating as his new prime minister Yulia Svyrydenko, the driving force behind a minerals deal with the United States. Outgoing prime minister Denys Shmyhal has been put forward as the new defense minister.

The nominations, which require parliamentary approval, came as diplomatic efforts to end the war with Russia, now in its fourth year, have stalled and as Ukraine seeks to revive its cash-strapped economy and build up a domestic arms industry.

Zelenskiy said he, Shmyhal and outgoing defense minister Rustem Umerov had decided at a meeting on Wednesday that the defense ministry would have "greater influence in the domain of arms production".

"Ukrainian-made weapons now make up about 40% of those used at the front and in our operations," Zelenskiy said in his nightly video address. "This is already significantly more than at any time in our country's independence. The production volumes are truly large, but we need more.

"Our goal is to reach 50% Ukrainian-made weaponry within the first six months of the new government, by expanding our domestic production. I am confident this is achievable, though not easy."

Zelenskiy has long stressed the importance of boosting domestic production of weapons and developing joint production of weaponry with Ukraine's Western partners.

It has focused on drone production and on providing air defenses to withstand intensifying Russian drone and missile attacks on Ukrainian cities. Zelenskiy has in recent weeks stressed the importance of developing drone interceptors as a rational way of tackling swarms of drones.

Kyiv's military authorities last week announced the allocation of $6.2 million for a drone interceptor program to defend the capital's skies from Russian drones.