An opposition leader in the Netherlands suggested he is willing to see Israeli civilians suffer the consequences of losing access to the Iron Dome as a consequence of voting for Benjamin Netanyahu.
Frans Timmermans, the parliamentary leader of the GreenLeft–Labour alliance and former Vice President of the European Commission, made the comments after his party backed a motion calling for a total arms embargo on the Jewish state in the Dutch parliament.
Asked by a journalist whether “the consequence is that Israeli citizens will be the victims if the Iron Dome, if there are no more resources for it,” Timmermans replied: “You are correct.”
“That is the case if Netanyahu continues on this path,” he added.
The reporter followed up, saying: “That is a very serious consequence.”
Timmermans appeared to agree.
“Yes, but what is the serious consequence for the innocent people in Iran, where a hospital has also been hit, for the people in Gaza, where dozens of victims are again to be mourned in the past 24 hours? For the people in Lebanon who are also suffering from rocket attacks,” he said.
“Ultimately, in a democracy, the citizens are responsible for the actions of the government” he added.
Timmermans is hoping to become Prime Minister in the upcoming Dutch elections.
His Labour-Green-Left alliance had backed a motion calling for a total arms embargo on Israel, including a specific ban on the export of Dutch components used in the Iron Dome air defence system. The motion was ultimately voted down.
The Netherlands will hold elections on October 29, after the far-right leader of the Party for Freedom Geert Wilders, resigned from the government’s coalition earlier this month, collapsing the government less than a year after it took power.
The vote is expected to be closely contested between Wilders’ Party for Freedom (PVV), the centre-right People’s Party for Freedom and Democracy (VVD), and the Labour-Green-Left alliance (PvdA-GL) led by Timmermans.
