Dutch Foreign Minister Caspar Veldkamp resigned after coalition partners blocked his push for tougher measures against Israel, saying he felt compelled to do more over the crises in Gaza City and the West Bank.
Veldkamp said the government had already taken significant steps, but he felt pressure to act further regarding the situation in Gaza City and the West Bank.
With parties VVD and BBB opposing any new measures, he said he no longer trusted that he could implement his plans and decided to step down.
"I see that I am insufficiently able to take meaningful additional measures to increase pressure on Israel," Veldkamp told ANP after a cabinet debate on possible sanctions against Israel was deadlocked.
Last month Veldkamp declared far-right Israeli ministers Itamar Ben-Gvir and Bezalel Smotrich unwelcome in the Netherlands.
On Thursday, he said he wanted to take further steps against Israel, but later acknowledged he lacked confidence he could act effectively in the coming weeks or months.
The minister said the steps he had proposed were "seriously discussed" but encountered resistance in successive cabinet meetings.
"I feel constrained in setting the course I consider necessary as foreign minister," he said.
The Netherlands was among 21 countries that signed a joint declaration on Thursday condemning Israel's approval of a major West Bank settlement project as "unacceptable and contrary to international law".
The U.N. agency for Palestinian refugees confirmed on Friday that famine in Gaza was deliberately caused by the Israeli government, following a formal confirmation by the U.N.-backed global hunger monitoring system IPC.
Israel has killed nearly 62,300 Palestinians in Gaza since October 2023. The military campaign has devastated the enclave, which is facing famine.
Last November, the International Criminal Court issued arrest warrants for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his former Defense Minister Yoav Gallant for war crimes and crimes against humanity in Gaza.
Israel also faces a genocide case at the International Court of Justice for its war on the enclave.
