News - World: The Palestinian resistance movement Hamas has lauded the “courageous” and “ethical” resignation of Dutch Foreign Minister Caspar Veldkamp after he failed to secure cabinet support for new sanctions against the Israeli regime over its ongoing genocide in Gaza.

In a statement on Saturday, Hamas welcomed the resignation, which was followed by several other ministers resigning, following the refusal of his government to “impose new sanctions on the Zionist occupation entity” over its aggression against the Gaza Strip and its settlement projects in the occupied West Bank and al-Quds.

“This principled position taken by the resigning Dutch ministers in the face of the genocide and starvation against our people in Gaza embodies humanitarian values, reaffirms commitment to the foundations of international law, and sends a powerful message on the necessity of acting to stop the fascist aggression against innocent civilians,” the statement said.

Veldkamp, a member of the centre-right New Social Contract party, had informed the country’s Parliament he intended to bring in new measures in response to Israel’s plans to escalate attacks on Gaza City and other heavily populated areas in the besieged territory.

But he said on Friday that he could not achieve agreement on “meaningful measures” and had repeatedly faced resistance from colleagues over sanctions already in place.

Following his resignation, all New Social Contract ministers and state secretaries confirmed their support for Veldkamp and resigned from the caretaker government in solidarity, prompting a political upheaval.

Hamas said the “ethical stance” by the Dutch ministers comes at a time when the UN has declared the spread of famine in the Gaza Strip, obligating “all people of conscience to exert every effort to boycott and punish the occupation, and to pressure it to halt its ongoing crimes of genocide and starvation.”

“While we call on all governments of the world to assume their moral and political responsibilities, we emphasize the necessity of rejecting the policies of the fascist occupation, condemning the genocide and starvation, imposing deterrent sanctions on it, and taking immediate action to stop the massacres and lift the siege on our people.”

At least 62,622 Palestinians have been killed, mostly women and children, and another 157,673 individuals have been injured in the brutal Israeli onslaught on Gaza since October 7, 2023, according to the health ministry of Gaza.

Source: Press TV