International

SP Member of Parliament Harry van Bommel is urging the Minister of Foreign Affairs to take additional measures to counter illegal Israeli settlements in the occupied Palestinian territories. “It’s a good thing that products from the settlements can no longer be sold in Dutch supermarkets with misleading labels which give the impression that the products come from Israel,” says Van Bommel. “But as long as Israel continues to extend the settlements and the occupation of Palestinian territory is maintained, more far-reaching measures will be needed. That’s why I’m advocating that an end be put to investments by pension funds such as ABP in Israeli banks which provide mortgages to colonists, enabling the further enlargement of the settlements.”

Conservative estimates indicate that, since the accession to office of Prime Minister Netanyahu in 2009, more than 30,000 new houses have been built in the settlements. The Dutch government has stated that such enlargement represents the greatest threat to a two-state solution. “If the minister believes that enlargement of the settlements is the biggest danger to peace,” argues Van Bommel, “then he has to act on this. After almost fifty years of the occupation it’s also about time that action were taken at last.”