In September, the International Association of Genocide Scholars declared that Israeli operations in Gaza constitute war crimes, crimes against humanity and genocide. Meanwhile, Australia, Canada, France and the UK joined 153 countries who today recognise Palestinian statehood. As the Dutch general elections approach this 29 of October, Palestinian recognition is high on the debating agenda among politicians in the Hague. So, why does the Netherlands not recognise Palestine?

The Dutch positioning on Palestinian recognition 

In line with the conventional Western stance, the Dutch government’s official position on the conflict remains a two-state solution, “…with an independent and viable Palestinian state existing alongside a secure Israel” . Specifically, the Netherlands envisages the future Palestinian state along the borders of 1967—encompassing the Gaza Strip, the West Bank, and East Jerusalem. The government condemns the October 7 attacks by Hamas and consequentlyaffirms the Israeli right to defend itself. In reference to the Gaza strip, the Dutch government uses another rhetoric: “The government is extremely concerned about the catastrophic humanitarian situation in the Gaza Strip.” 

Dutch-Palestinian relations have a complex history. In the 1920s and 1930s, Dutch media portrayed Palestinians as “troublemaker farmers, murderers, looters”. Such narratives would shift later in the century, where in the 1970s many European countries began to admit Palestinian right for self-determination. The Netherlands, however, was kept steadfast in opposing the idea and was not in favour of Palestinian recognition. After the Palestinian elections in 2006, when Hamas won in Gaza, the Netherlands affirmed that they will never support a Palestinian government which refuses to recognize and attacks Israel.  

When in 2013, former Israeli president Shimon Peres visited the Netherlands, King Willem-Alexander affirmed the following: “…The Netherlands is very attached to Israel…We will continue to help Israel shape its future. For the Netherlands, it is a future closely bound up with progress in negotiations between Israel and the Palestinians, geared towards a two-state solution…. The Netherlands’ engagement with Israel runs far deeper and goes back way further than the bilateral relations between our governments...” . In 2014, former Dutch foreign minister Bert Koenders, from the PvdA (Labour party), asserted that recognition of Palestine was simply ‘not real now’, and could hencederail an Israeli-Palestinian peace process. In January 2023, former prime minister Rutte in a call with Israeli prime minister Netanyahu congratulated his election victory and “underlined the Netherlands’ continuing support for a two-state solution, and its opposition to any steps that put this in jeopardy”. More recently, however, in August 2025, now-former Dutch Foreign Minister Caspar Veldkamp said that “The Netherlands is not planning to recognise a Palestinian state at this time”.   

And at the UN summit last September 2025, caretaker Foreign Minister David van Weel spoke at the UN’s General Assembly conference, declaring that the Netherlands wants to recognize Palestine at a later stage, but as a part of political process.  

What stops recognition of Palestine? 

As is with most European states, historical factor which plays significance in the conflict—not least the impact of the Holocaust. As former Dutch Prime-minister in 1940s-1950s (Labour party), Willem Drees’s support for Israel wasamong others due to his imprisonment in Buchenwald and witnessing Holocaust. Former Dutch Foreign Minister Joseph Luns from the Catholic People’s Party (KVP) also supported Israel due to Holocaust: “Before the war, 120,000 to 140,000 Jews lived here, now only 20,000.” Holocaust related guilt has also influenced Dutch public support for Israel. 

During the later 1967 ‘six-day war’ with neighbouring Arab states, when Israel occupied Jordanian and Egyptian-controlled Palestinian territories, support for Israel among the Dutch population remained solid — 67% of Dutch citizens expressed support for Israel, compared to 55% in the United States, 59% in the United Kingdom, and 58% in France. Following the 1967 war, Dutch citizens donated a sum of “$4.2 million to support Israel” . During the 1973 Yom Kippur War again with Arab states, the Netherlands provided direct military support to Israel, while European countries, like Britain, went as far as imposing an arms embargo. Former Dutch Minister of Defence Henk Vredeling(Labour party) said then that he wanted to prevent repetition of  what had happened to the Jews during the Second World War. 

Geopolitical factor such as the steadfast positioning of Atlanticism has also become an important factor. So-called ‘Atlanticism’ represents the Netherlands’ policy aligning Dutch national security priorities with those of the U.S.’s—including foreign policy. As such, the Netherlands—especially righter-wing parties like the VVD and the Christian Democrats—have traditionally tagged along the US’s long-standing support for Israel, hence not favouring Palestinian recognition. Moreover, going against the USA could pose reprisal in other policy areas, as Canada experienced with Trump’s threats: “Wow! Canada has just announced that it is backing statehood for Palestine. That will make it very hard for us to make a Trade Deal with them.”  

Religious factor is yet another reason posing obstacles to Palestinian recognition. Much like the US’ own ‘Bible Belt’, the Netherlands has its own—Calvinist—Bible Belt, spanning the southwest to the northeast of the country. Despiteparties who represent this portion of the population remain small—like the SGP and the CU—they have nonetheless been part of many government coalitions in the past. Consequently, the Netherlands’ multi-party parliamentary system has historically maintained a pro-Israeli stance in coalitions. Religiously, Orthodox Calvinists believe in a Biblical bond between Christians and Jews, also supporting relocation of the Dutch embassy to Jerusalem, as they see it as Israel’s undivided capital. In 1988, Former Foreign Minister Hans van den Broek, sent a delegation to Tunis to deepen diplomatic ties with the Palestinian Liberation Organisation (PLO), as a result of the PLO abandoning its armed resistance against Israel. Both the CDA and VVD said that it’s important to keep strong ties with Israel, while SCP warned that the Netherlands shouldn’t go against Israel, as it is God’s plan.  

Strong pro-Israeli lobby is yet additional factor why the Netherlands doesn’t recognize Palestine. Koos van Dam, former deputy director of the Foreign Ministry’s North Africa and Middle East Department (DAM), said that in the 1970s the Centre for Information and Documentation on Israel (CIDI) had strong influence on the ministry. Since 1999, CIDIs chairpersons have nearly all been VVD and PvdA members and politicians. According to the TweedeCamer, some trips to Israel by the MPs were organized or paid by Israeli lobby groups such as ELNET and CIDI, some trips to Israel by the MPs were organized or paid by Israeli lobby groups such as ELNET and CIDI. 

For example, a trip by Kops, A. (PVV) in 2023 was paid by ELNET; another trip by MP Stoffer, C. (SGP) in 2024 was paid by ELNET; Wilders’s visit in December 2024, travel and accommodation expenses were paid by Likud. In 2019, it became known that CIDI also organized a trip to Israel for Dilan Yesilgöz from the VVD and several officials from the Ministries of Foreign Affairs and Justice and Security (all of which had VVD members). 

The mutual support between far-right parties and Israel is one final another important factor. Despite the polarization in Dutch politics regarding Palestinian recognition—the polarization cuts quite clearly between the right and left—it wasn’t always like this. Historically, left-leaning parties had endorsed Israel and its creation, fiercely supporting the cause—a stance that has now been replaced by right and far-right parties. 

For example, Wilder’s far-right PVV is now one of the main supporters of Israel in Dutch politics. Moreover, on a personal level, Wilders had worked in Israeli settlement in the occupied West Bank when he was 17 years old. In a speech in Tel Aviv, Wilders claimed that Palestinians already have a state: Jordan. In 2014, during Gaza war, Wilders declared that: “…What we forget is that the fight against Israel is a fight against everything that is not Islamic, a fight against freedom and democracy. If Israel falls, we are next..” 

But a common hostility towards Islam is not the only thing that unites the PVV and much of Israels governing political class. It is also Gidi Markuszower, former spokesperson for Likud Netherlands, and former VVD and PVV MP. Although in 2010, Dutch General Intelligence and Security Service (AIVD) warned that Markuszower was involved in information collusion with Mossad, going on to be re-elected in 2015, 2017, 2023. In 2024, he was nominated by Wilders to be Minister of Asylum and Migration and First Deputy Prime Minister. However, he did not pass the safety screening from the AIVD.. 

Will the Netherlands recognize Palestine? 

In 2017, a motion before Parliament had already been submitted to recognize Palestine—despite gaining little traction. In 2025, however, critical voices within Dutch politics and the Netherlands’ general public had surged in favour of reviewing Dutch policies towards Palestinian recognition. Frans Timmermans, the Dutch politician and leader of the GroenLinks–PvdA party has affirmed that recognition of Palestine is a needed step towards peace. The SP, D66 and DENK parties have also urged the government to recognize Palestinian statehood. SP had gone as far as calling for the recognition of Palestine even on October 2023. The Advisory Council on International Affairs (AIV), recommendedthe Netherlands’ recognition of Palestine as soon as possible. 

According to a Pew Research study, 78% of Dutch people view Israel in a negative light – the highest compared to other European countries. According to another survey by Ipsos in April 2025, only 15% of Dutch people support the current government’s positioning, with 27% of people opposing it. Today, nearly half of the Dutch population believes that Israel has committed genocide in Gaza in contrast to the Dutch foreign minister spokesman saying that “the Netherlands  does not currently view the situation in Gaza as genocide” .  

The shift in Dutch politics and population has been also evident among figures who oppose the recognition of Palestine. In September 2025, at the meeting of the Israel Allies legislators in The Hague, where Reformed Political Party MPs and JA21 MPs were present, Leo van Doesburg, Europe director of the Israel Allies Foundation said “I am concerned about the shift of the Dutch Ministry of Foreign Affairs against Israel. By its current decisions, the Netherlands risks aligning itself with positions taken by Ireland and Spain”.  

Spain and Ireland have already recognized Palestine as a state, pioneering a trend among other Western European states. As the general election date approaches, the Palestinian recognition is high on the trending topics in the Hague. According to the latest IPSOS poll, 1 month before elections, PVV is projected to have 31 seats, CDA 25, GL-PvdA 23, D66 15, VVD 14, Ja21 11, BBB 5 etc. To form a government, 76 seats are needed for a simple majority in the Parliament. As the VVD would not form coalition with GL-PvdA, there is a big chance that the cabinet will remain rightward-focused, with the PVV as a driving force. Smaller parties will nonetheless play a crucial role in forming the next cabinet. And even if the left gains a majority, the Parliament will still be consisting of several parties, complicating recognition becoming an agenda priority. Indeed, there is a big chance that the Netherlands will not recognize Palestine anytime soon. 

The Netherlands is described often as a champion of human rights. The Dutch Constitution, Article 90, declares unconditionally that “The government has the task of promoting the development of the international legal order”. According to this constitutional duty, recognizing Palestine could be interpreted as not just a political gesture. It is an act that could become necessary to prove that the Netherlands still adheres to peaceful conflict resolution and international justice—demonstrating that its foreign policy is inextricably aligned with its values.

Disclaimer: This article is based on publicly available information from recognized sources, including official reports by the Dutch Government, Parliament and media. This article does not contain any classified material or confidential information.