Foreign minister nixes visit by Dutch counterpart after he endorses ICC warrants
Opposition’s Lapid blasts decision as ‘impulsive,’ says government must build coalition to prevent further warrants; Geert Wilders still mum on ICC decision
Foreign Minister Gideon Sa’ar on Thursday said he had canceled a planned visit to Israel next week by his Dutch counterpart, Caspar Veldkamp, after the latter said the Netherlands would obey arrest warrants by the International Criminal Court in The Hague for Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and ex-defense minister Yoav Gallant.
“Minister Sa’ar expressed his disappointment, in the name of the government of Israel and the people of Israel, over his announcement in the Dutch parliament following the decision of the International Criminal Court in the Hague,” Sa’ar’s office said in a statement following a discussion between the two men.
“In the discussion, it was agreed that the visit by the Dutch foreign minister to Israel that had been planned for next Monday — would not take place,” the statement said.
In a massive legal bombshell, the ICC on Thursday issued arrest warrants for Netanyahu and Gallant over the war in Gaza, an unprecedented step that put the two at risk of being detained in much of the world. The ICC also issued a warrant for Muhammad Deif, a Hamas commander killed by Israel in July, while noting that it could not ascertain his fate.
Veldkamp said Thursday that his country was prepared to act upon the warrants, joining a host of other European officials who indicated they’d be willing to arrest the Israeli leaders if they landed in their countries.
The decision to cancel the visit drew criticism from Opposition Leader Yair Lapid, who accused Sa’ar of further isolating Israel for little purpose.
“The decision to cancel the visit of the Dutch foreign minister to Israel is hasty and wrong,” he said, in a post to X.
“The goal is not to isolate Israel even more, but to use smart political tools to build a coalition that will oppose the arrest warrants of The Hague. To boycott the world is an understandable emotional reaction, but it’s no way to build a diplomatic campaign,” he continued.
Lapid added, in a separate post, that “the government’s job is to act now, from a smart and non-impulsive policy perspective, to prevent arrest warrants against officers and soldiers of the IDF.”
Sa’ar said in response: “Lacking national pride as well as diplomatic wisdom should be no cause for pride… note that there are countries, including in Europe, such as Austria and Hungary, that chose to respond differently to The Hague’s outrageous decision. We’re done bowing our heads. Your way has been exhausted.”
Hebrew media outlets reported Thursday that Israel suspects there may be more arrest warrants on the way, including in relation to activities in the West Bank, especially in light of expected decisions by the UN and the International Court of Justice regarding Israel’s policy there.
Sa’ar’s decision was supported by Diaspora Affairs Minister Amichai Chikli, who had called for the visit to be canceled before the foreign minister’s announcement.
“We ought to be very sharp and clear, in the face of the clearly antisemitic policy of the court in The Hague, which dares to place the head of a gang of murderers and jihadist rapists on the same level as the leaders of a democratic country. No compromises,” Chikli had said.
Geert Wilders, the Dutch coalition leader and an outspoken supporter of Israel, has not yet responded to the ICC’s decision, though he condemned the decision by the court’s chief prosecutor in May to request the warrants.
On Thursday, Wilders publicly denounced a leak of details regarding his own planned visit to Israel, saying the premature disclosure endangered him and his security team, but did not comment on the plans themselves.
