Dutch Foreign Minister Caspar Veldkamp has resigned after his cabinet failed to agree on sanctions against Israel, triggering the collapse of the caretaker government.
Last month Veldkamp declared extremist Israeli ministers Itamar Ben-Gvir and Bezalel Smotrich unwelcome in the Netherlands.
The Netherlands also joined 21 countries in signing a declaration on Thursday condemning Israel's approval of a major illegal settlement project in occupied West Bank as "unacceptable and contrary to international law."
But after a cabinet debate on Friday ended in deadlock over further measures, Veldkamp told Dutch news agency ANP he was "insufficiently able to take meaningful additional measures."
He said he no longer had confidence he could act effectively in the coming weeks or months.
"I feel constrained in setting the course I consider necessary as foreign minister," he said.
Veldkamp had proposed a ban on imports from illegal Israeli settlements in the occupied Palestinian territories in response to the planned military escalation.
Following Veldkamp's resignation, other ministers from his New Social Contract (NSC) party also quit, leaving the government in disarray.
"In short, we are done with it," party leader Eddy Van Hijum said, accusing Israel of acting "diametrically opposed to international treaties."
No EU consensus
Veldkamp had been under intense pressure from domestic protests against Israel's nearly two-year genocide in Gaza.
Demonstrations in The Hague drew between 100,000 and 150,000 people, the largest in the Netherlands in two decades, demanding sanctions and humanitarian access for civilians.
On Friday, the United Nations officially declared famine in Gaza, blaming "systematic obstruction" of aid by Israel.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu swiftly dismissed the findings.
EU foreign ministers have repeatedly failed to agree on sanctions against Israel, despite pressure from several member states.
Proposals have included suspending Israel's participation in a one-billion-dollar EU science and technology programme, trade restrictions, and visa bans on Israeli officials.
In parliament, Veldkamp had said Ben-Gvir and Smotrich "repeatedly incited settler violence against Palestinians, promoted illegal settlement expansion, and called for ethnic cleansing in Gaza."
Smotrich accused European leaders of surrendering to "the lies of radical Islam" and "rising anti-Semitism," while Ben-Gvir vowed to continue his policies even if banned from "all of Europe."
The Dutch government already collapsed in June when anti-Islam lawmaker Geert Wilders pulled out of the country's four-party coalition over a fight about immigration.
The three remaining parties stayed on in a caretaker government until elections could be held in October.
Prime Minister Dick Schoof was set to address parliament later on Friday evening over the crisis.
