With the petition – a full arms embargo against Israel – we call on the Dutch government to draw a red line against genocide, civilian deaths and the use of hunger as a weapon of war in Gaza. Five concrete calls are made: stop the sale, purchase and transit of weapons and stop military cooperation and do not sign a new military treaty. 29,559 people signed the petition at the the moment of presentation, but it still possible to sign.
PAX director Rolien Sasse addressed the MPs at the presentation and stressed that the Dutch government must take serious measures against Israel. This is also the message of more than 150,000 people who, dressed in red, marched through The Hague last month and last Sunday.
During the presentation, a PAX study on Israeli arms procurement was also shared with MPs. Despite genocide in Gaza, the Netherlands buys weapons from Israel in huge numbers: nearly two billion euros worth of purchases over the past five years, half of which will be made after October 2023. This makes the Netherlands one of the largest customers. Almost all defence equipment has been bought from Elbit, Rafael and Israel Aerospace Industries, which ‘test’ their weapons on Palestinians. This also feeds the Israeli war chest.
This must stop, said Frank Slijper, who believes the Netherlands should not buy weapons from countries that structurally and seriously violate international law.
