Amsterdam (ANN) – The Dutch government plans to ban imports of goods produced in Jewish settlements in Israeli-occupied Palestinian territories over Israel’s plans for the West Bank and its military offensive in Gaza, the foreign minister told parliament.
Thank you for reading this post, don't forget to subscribe!According to Reuters, the Netherlands imposed travel bans on two far-right Israeli cabinet ministers in July, accusing them of inciting violence against Palestinians and calling for an “ethnic cleansing” of Gaza, but the government had been reluctant to take further steps until now.
Last month, former Foreign Minister Casper Veldkamp resigned because he said he felt no support within the cabinet to take additional measures against Israel.
But his successor, David van Weel, told parliament late on Wednesday he had instructed his department to draft a government decree on the import ban, saying the measure would be implemented as soon as possible.
The Netherlands is a leading global buyer of Israeli goods, but Van Weel did not say what volume of goods are currently imported from Jewish settlements.
Most of the international community considers Israeli settlements in the West Bank illegal under international law. The Israeli government deems settlements legal under its own laws, while some so-called “outposts” are illegal but often tolerated and sometimes later legalised.
The Netherlands also supports the European Commission’s plans to suspend trade-related measures in a European Union agreement with Israel, Van Weel said.
Israeli strikes killed at least 40 Palestinians in the Gaza Strip on Friday, local health authorities said, most of them in Gaza City, where many residents are staying put despite Israeli evacuation orders because they have nowhere safe to go.
Israel has stated its intention to take full control of the ruined city, where about a million people are sheltering, as part of its plan to wipe out the militant group Hamas, and has been intensifying its attacks.
The explosions never stopped since yesterday,” said father-of-two Adel, 60, who lives in Gaza City close to Beach refugee camp. He did not wish to give his full name for safety reasons.
“Many families left their homes and that is what the occupation wants,” he told Reuters via a chat app. “By these bombardments they are telling people ‘You either leave your area or die there’.”
The army said it had completed five waves of air strikes on Gaza City this week, targeting more than 500 sites, and that it had destroyed reconnaissance and sniper sites, buildings containing tunnel openings and weapons depots.
In a statement, it said it would “continue to intensify the pace of strikes in a focused manner, based on precise intelligence, with the aim of hitting Hamas’ infrastructure”.
Meinwhile the Palestinian health authorities said several deadly strikes had hit targets in the south of the territory, where some of those fleeing the bombardment of Gaza City have been heading.
Amjad Al-Shawa, head of the Palestinian NGOs Network, which liaises with the U.N. and international aid groups, told Reuters an estimated 10% of people in Gaza City had left since Israel announced its plan to take control a month ago.