A large majority of Dutch people think the Netherlands should speak out in favour of a permanent ceasefire in Gaza. Moreover, the Netherlands should not supply weapons to Israel. This is shown by a survey conducted by Ipsos I&O, commissioned by PAX.
63% per cent of respondents think the Netherlands should speak out in favour of a permanent ceasefire in Gaza. Only 11% disagree. More than half of Dutch people think the Netherlands should not supply weapons to Israel. Only 15% disagree.
We also had the results broken down by voting preference. This shows that left-wing voters overwhelmingly oppose arms supplies: 70%. But right-wing voters are also in the majority against:
- Centre-right: 47% against arms supplies, 23% in favour
- Right-conservative: 41% against arms supplies, 27% in favour
It is safe to say that the position of the right-wing parties differs from the view of their voters.
Large group in favour of economic sanctions
Half of Dutch people think there is apartheid in Israel and the Palestinian territories. Over three quarters of Dutch people familiar with settlement policy, say Israel should stop building and expanding settlements in the West Bank. Of this group, two-thirds think the Netherlands should impose sanctions if Israel continues to build settlements.
Little support for military cooperation
Interestingly enough, only one in five Dutch people support military cooperation with Israel, while 36% of the people oppose such cooperation. Yet the Netherlands is about to enter into a new defense treaty with Israel.
‘Israel is waging a ruthless war against the Palestinian population in the Gaza Strip, which has been largely destroyed,’ says Thomas van Gool, Israel and Palestine expert at PAX. ‘The clear rejection of arms supplies to Israel and the broad support for a permanent ceasefire are, as far as we are concerned, a clear message to the cabinet.’
Sign the petition
We believe the Netherlands – which has promotion of international law in its constitution and hosts the International Criminal Court and International Court of Justice – should do much more to stop the violence and protect civilians. That is why we have started a new petition. We ask everyone to sign it. (Dutch)
You can read the complete survey on the Ipsos I&O website.