Six out of 10 people in the Netherlands say the government should take a more critical stance on Israel over the mounting death toll in Gaza and occupation of the West Bank.

A survey by Ipsos I&O found that 34% of voters opposed the Dutch government’s policy – up from 27% the last time the poll was taken in April – while another 32% supported it “to a limited extent”.

The proportion of people supporting the government also rose slightly from 15% to 18%.

The latest edition of the survey was carried out at the end of August, a week after caretaker foreign affairs minister Caspar Veldkamp and the NSC party’s cabinet members resigned over the issue.

Veldkamp was unable to convince the other two parties in government, VVD and BBB, to take tougher action against Israel, such as a trade boycott or an arms embargo, following the invasion of Gaza city and plans to build more settlements on the West Bank.

The survey found that 59% of respondents viewed Israel’s response to the attacks by Hamas in October 2023 was disproportionate, up from 46% a year ago.

Weapons embargo

Nearly half (49%) said the Netherlands should stop buying weapons from Israel, while 46% called for a ban on imported products from illegally occupied territories. Almost four in 10 (38%) say the Dutch government should recognise a Palestinian state, while 23% are against it.

The fact that support for and opposition to the government’s policy has increased reflects the fact that more people are taking a side in the debate, with the number of “don’t know” responses down from 28% last September to 18%.

The proportion of people saying the government should give Israel more support is up to 12%, its highest level since the conflict began.

The poll also shows a wide disparity between supporters of different political parties, with 91% of GroenLinks-PvdA voters calling for the Dutch government to be more critical of Israel compared to 41% of VVD supporters. Three-quarters of CDA and D66 supporters also back a more critical stance.

But the issue also divides supporters of Geert Wilders’ far-right PVV, which is leading opinion polls and is a staunch supporter of Benjamin Netanyahu’s government.

Three in 10 PVV voters call for the government to be more supportive of Israel, while 27% believe it should be more critical and 20% say the current policy is correct. Overall just 12% of voters support the government’s line.