Dutch PM Mark Rutte to visit Israel, Egypt today
Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte will visit Israel and Egypt on Wednesday to hold discussions on the ongoing conflict in West Asia. Rutte is expected to meet his Israeli counterpart Benjamin Netanyahu before leaving for Cairo for talks with Egyptian President Abdel Fattah el-Sissi.
The Dutch government information service says that the “humanitarian situation in Gaza and the importance of an immediate pause in fighting and the release of all hostages will be discussed.”
Rutte also will discuss the “need to prevent regional escalation and find a lasting solution to the conflict.”
Recently, Israeli President Isaac Herzog’s participation in the inauguration of the National Holocaust Museum in the Dutch capital of Amsterdam irked many over Israel’s military operation in Gaza.
Protestors, even Jews, gathered at the museum to call for a ceasefire in Gaza.
In its defence, the National Holocaust Museum said that an invitation to Herzog was dispatched before Hamas launched its offensive against Israel on October 7.
The museum said in a statement that it acknowledges that Herzog’s attendance at the opening raises questions but added that he represents “the homeland of Dutch Holocaust survivors who had emigrated to Israel.”
Last month, a Dutch court ordered the termination of the deliveries of parts for F-35 fighter jets to Israel in its war against Hamas in Gaza.
The order comes after the court withheld an appeal by a human rights organisation that flagged concerns over the supply of F-35 jet parts saying that such a move is allegedly a violation of international law by Israel in its war with Hamas.
“The court orders the State to cease all actual export and transit of F-35 parts with final destination Israel within seven days after service of this judgment,” said the ruling.
Government lawyers argued that Israel can easily procure the parts from other countries even when the Netherlands stops supplying them.
The International Court of Justice in The Hague, which rules on disputes between states, has said Israel must do everything possible to prevent genocidal acts in Gaza.
