Leftist groups in the Netherlands have decided to intensify their protests against the government’s involvement in ongoing imperialist wars, including Israel‘s genocidal offensive on Gaza.
The New Communist Party of Netherlands (NCPN) and the Communist Youth Movement (CJB) have called for a protest at the air base in Woensdrecht in southern Netherlands on February 4 against the country’s supply of F-35 fighter jet parts to Israel. Earlier, the RED Socialist Youth (ROOD) and the Socialist Party (SP) criticized the Mark Rutte-led caretaker government’s support for the bombardment of Gaza by the Zionist state and the military conflict in the Red Sea.
According to reports, parts of the US-origin F-35 fighter jets are kept and maintained at the Dutch airbase in Woensdrecht, which are being ordered and used by Israel, in the war on Gaza. The Logistics Centre Woensdrecht (LCW) functions as the European distribution center for NATO, and consignments have already been dispatched to Israel after October 7.
In 2022, Israel imported 2.3 million euros worth of military goods from the Netherlands under the F-35 program. Earlier in December, a Dutch court dismissed a petition filed by human rights groups and activists demanding a halt to the sale of F-35 components to Israel. The court stated that it is a policy decision by the incumbent government that cannot be challenged in the court.
Despite being a caretaker government following the political crisis and electoral setbacks in November last year, the coalition government led by the conservative People’s Party for Freedom and Democracy (VVD) has continued its involvement in imperialist conflicts by providing fighter jet parts to Israel and promising to deliver F-16 jets to Ukraine at the earliest.
Meanwhile, the far-right groups in the country headed by Geert Wilders from the Party for Freedom (PVV), which emerged as a leading force in the general elections, are trying hard to form a stable, working coalition to form a new cabinet in the country. Following the Israeli allegations of involvement of some UNRWA staff members in Operation Al-Aqsa Flood by Palestinian resistance fighters on October 7, Geert Wilders had already announced on social media: “No more money to the UNRWA. Never again.” Earlier he had also criticized the Dutch government for not taking strict action against pro-Palestinian and anti-Israel protests.
Leftists have accused the Rutte government of duplicity, noting that even as it pays lip service to complying with international laws and human rights in global forums, the government has always excused Israel to continue its war crimes in Gaza.
The Netherlands abstained from voting on the UN resolution calling for a ceasefire in Gaza, citing Israel’s right to seld-defense. In the wake of massive Palestine solidarity demonstrations in Dutch cities, the House of Representatives passed a motion moved by the right-wing JA21 party condemning the slogan ‘From the River to the Sea, Palestine Will be Free’ as inciting violence. However, leftists and pro-Palestine groups in the country continue to champion the slogan as a symbol of justice and the struggle of the Palestinian people.
In their statement on January 29, the New Communist Party of Netherlands (NCPN) and the Communist Youth Movement (CJB) said: “Ordinary people in the Netherlands and around the world are fed up with war and destruction of lives, as evidenced by the large-scale demonstrations for peace in Palestine. Worldwide, young people are used as cannon fodder in the wars of this bourgeoisie, resulting in mutilation, traumatization, and death. They are deployed in wars that have nothing to do with security in the Netherlands, but everything to do with the interests of big business. Now that the Netherlands is considering reintroducing conscription, the importance of the fight for peace for young people is becoming acutely clear. Working people must not be made complicit in the atrocities that Israel is carrying out in Palestine!”
The communist groups have demanded an immediate halt to the supply of F-35 parts to Israel, halting operations at the Woensdrecht Logistics Centre as a distribution center for NATO, Netherlands’ withdrawal from NATO, no further funding and support for imperialist wars by the Dutch government, no Dutch soldiers outside the country’s border, and no US interference in the Netherlands.
Earlier, ROOD stated that “the West is doing nothing about Israel’s genocide against the Palestinians, they even offer open support. They only take action when international trade is threatened. According to Rutte, this is a ‘matter of principle’: the principle of sea containers over Palestinian lives…As socialists in the West, we must oppose our own government’s support for the genocide in Gaza. Stop the genocide! Ceasefire now!,” added the group.
As of February 1, 2024, Israel has killed more than 26,900 people in Gaza, while more than 65,940 people were wounded and over 1.9 people displaced.
