Netherlands Reeling From Political Earthquake Over Israel’s Iron Dome (Worthy News Analysis)
By Stefan J. Bos, Worthy News Europe Bureau Chief
THE HAGUE, NETHERLANDS (Worthy News) – The Netherlands is reeling from a political earthquake after the leader of the largest leftist opposition alliance backed a motion to end Dutch support for Israel’s Iron Dome, which intercepts missiles often fired at population centers.
Frans Timmermans, the parliamentary leader of the GreenLeft–Labour alliance and former vice president of the European Commission, the European Union’s executive, had been a favorite to become the next Dutch prime minister.
Yet his prospects for the top job seemed all but to disappear when he suggested that Jews and other Israeli civilians should suffer and even die for voting for Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.
His Labour Party backed a parliamentary motion calling for a total arms embargo on Israel, the only democracy in the Middle East, including the delivery of components by the Netherlands for Israel’s Iron Dome.
Asked by a journalist whether “the consequence is that Israeli citizens will be the victims” if there are “no more resources” for the Iron Dome, Timmermans replied: “You are correct.”
“That is the case if Netanyahu continues on this path,” he added. The reporter followed up, saying: “That is a very serious consequence.”
Timmermans apparently agreed. “Yes, but what is the serious consequence for the innocent people in Iran, where a hospital has also been hit, for the people in Gaza, where dozens of victims are again to be mourned in the past 24 hours? For the people in Lebanon who are also suffering from rocket attacks,” he said.
VOTERS PUNISHED
“Ultimately, in a democracy, the citizens are responsible for the actions of the government,” Timmermans added about the possibility that the Jewish nation could be wiped off the map without an Iron Dome system.
The anti-Israel arms embargo motion was ultimately voted down following an emotional debate in parliament.
Till his politically disastrous comments, Timmermans, 64, had been hoping to become prime minister in the Dutch elections scheduled for October 29.
Opinion polls suggested that the GreenLeft-Labour alliance could become the second political force after the anti-Islam Party for Freedom (PVV), which strongly supports Israel.
As the PVV would likely be unable to form a government in the fractured Dutch political landscape, Timmermans was seen as a kingmaker who could lead a three—or four-party cabinet.
Commentators said Timmermans had likely been inspired by a wave of anti-Israel “red line” protests while seeking support from many Muslim voters.
However, he underestimated the political backlash over the anti-Israel motion among parties that could have been potential coalition partners following the upcoming elections, according to a Worthy News assessment.
FUTURE UNCERTAIN
It was also unclear what the political future would hold for Hungarian-born Labour Party legislator Kati Piri, who tabled the motion.
“Israel is currently the aggressor; if Israel were the victim, we would have a different discussion,” stressed Piri in a debate with outgoing Minister of Foreign Affairs Caspar Veldkamp.
Veldkamp reacted in shock, saying Israel’s air defence system, Iron Dome, protects civilians against rocket attacks. “People are in bomb shelters there. People who agree with the Netanyahu government and people who disagree with him,” explained Veldkamp. “I note that GreenLeft-Labour has made a U-turn on this point. It is a U-turn that we as a cabinet will not adopt in any case.”
Piri countered that the Iron Dome is part of “Israel’s attack power” and cannot be seen exclusively as a means of defence for civilians. “Would [Prime Minister] Netanyahu have attacked Iran if he did not have the Iron Dome? Israel dares to do this, precisely because of this system.”
She argued that the supply of components by Dutch companies should stop and demanded a complete arms embargo against Israel.
That puts her party directly opposite to the conservative People’s Party for Freedom and Democracy (VVD), which had been seen as a possible coalition partner in a future cabinet.
VVD legislator Eric van der Burg said Piri “must be honest” about the impact of her motion on Israeli citizens. “Then also state the consequences of this position. Namely, that Tel Aviv could be completely wiped off the map by Iran.”
‘EXISTENTIAL THREAT’
The ChristianUnion and New Social Contract parties agreed and said it would mean an “existential threat” for Israel if the air defense system fails.
The row came just hours before Saturday’s members’ congress on the merger of GreenLeft with Timmermans’ longtime Labour Party (PvdA).
Former PvdA leaders said leaving Israel without missile defense due to a lack of components (including from the Netherlands) “could lead to tens of thousands of additional innocent civilian casualties, including Palestinians, Israeli Arabs, Druze, Christians, and Jewish Israelis.”
In the same motion, they demanded that despite the “completely reprehensible policy of the Netanyahu government,” the PvdA board should “distance itself” from the anti-Israel motion calling for no more defensive weapons to be sent to Israel.
This year, the Dutch government granted seven permits to companies to supply components for the Iron Dome, Worthy News learned.
These transactions are “within the European frameworks for arms export control,” the cabinet said.
Israel’s sophisticated air defense system fended off attacks from Gaza, Lebanon, Iraq, Syria, Yemen, and Iran. Yet, experts agree that Iranian missiles have tested the multilayered network, and some projectiles have made an impact, underscoring Israeli vulnerabilities.
HOSPITAL HIT
An Iranian strike on Thursday injured some 80 people at Soroka Medical Center in Beersheba, the largest hospital in southern Israel, and caused extensive damage. With Israel struggling, there has been concern that perceived antisemitism within the GreenLeft-Labour alliance could undermine Dutch support for the Jewish nation.
Jeffrey Schipper, the chief editor of Dutch Christian news service Cvandaag (Ctoday), condemned the leftist reluctance to defend Israel.
He suggested that the leftist argument is: “Because Israel goes too far in Gaza, we give terrorists a free pass to mow down Jews and Arabs (20 percent of the Israeli population is Arab).”
Since 2011, the Iron Dome has “intercepted more than 5,000 incoming rockets fired at population centers. The system has a success rate of 90 percent or higher for rockets that threaten populated areas,” he commented.
“Without Iron Dome, the number of civilian deaths in Israel could have run into the thousands. My question to Kati Piri of the PvdA is therefore: ‘Have you gone completely mad?!’”
That opinion is shared by Afshin Ellian, an Iranian-born Dutch professor of law, philosopher, poet, and critic of political Islam who fled Iran to the Netherlands. “I never thought that Frans Timmermans would deliberately and knowingly want to endanger the safety of millions of Israelis and Jews by handing them over to [Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah] Khamenei’s ballistic missiles. The PvdA has been destroyed by the merger with [GreenLeft] GL,” Ellian said.
“Whoever votes for them, votes for a refined form of anti-Semitism: Jews as scapegoats, hatred of Jews under the guise of criticism of the Israeli government, and agreeing or looking the other way at the extermination of Jews.”
He added that GreenLeft-Labour acts “according to the wishes of the [Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps] IRGC [of Iran]. What an ugly representation!”
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