Dutch foreign affairs minister Caspar Veldkamp has accused Israel of breaching human rights laws with its plan to permanently occupy the Gaza region.

Veldkamp wrote in a letter to the European Union’s foreign policy chief, Kaja Kallas, that Israel’s blockade of Gaza breached the terms of its free trade agreement with the EU.

During a visit to London, Veldkamp said he would be asking European foreign ministers to review the treaty when they meet in Gymnich, Poland, this week.

He told the Guardian: “You cannot starve the people of the Gaza Strip. It is against international law. It’s morally wrong. It’s dangerous. I don’t think it’s in Israel’s own interest.”

Veldkamp’s comments represent the strongest criticism of Israel from the Dutch government since its bombardment of Gaza began in response to the Hamas terrorist attacks in October 2023.

Prime minister Dick Schoof said in a joint press conference with his Belgian counterpart, Bart De Wever, in The Hague on Tuesday that Israel’s plan for Gaza was “concerning” and “not the way forward as far as this cabinet is concerned”.

Schoof called for ceasefire talks to resume. He said: “Israel must respect international law and we condemn developments and statements to the contrary, such as the blockade and the call for a permanent occupation of Gaza.”

Cautious stance

The government has previously opposed efforts by countries such as Ireland and Spain to suspend the treaty in order to put pressure on Israel.

As recently as last month Veldkamp, a former ambassador to Israel, implicitly criticised Ireland’s more vocal stance, saying the Netherlands was achieving more than countries that had excluded themselves from the discussion.

The killing of 15 Palestinian ambulance workers by Israeli soldiers last month appears to have been a turning point.

Veldkamp summoned the Israeli ambassador after international media obtained footage of the incident contradicting Israel’s claims that the ambulance convoy was not displaying lights or sirens when it came under fire at a military checkpoint.

Wilders pro-Israel

He has also had to contend with the strongly pro-Israel stance of Geert Wilders, leader of the far-right PVV, the largest party in the four-way coalition government.

Wilders criticised Veldkamp’s response to the attack on the aid convoy as “premature and clumsy”, while Veldkamp condemned Wilders’ visit to an illegal Israeli settlement on the West Bank in December as “an affront to cabinet policy”.

The minister said in his letter to Kallas that the EU should investigate Israel’s latest plans, including a new system to distribute aid to Gaza. “Although many details are still unknown, this system does not seem compatible with the humanitarian principles of neutrality, impartiality and independence,” Veldkamp wrote.

He added that the Netherlands would not support an extension of the association agreement with Israel until the investigation had concluded. Extending the agreement requires unanimous support from all 27 EU countries.

Veldkamp said the EU needed a “wider debate and reflection on our relationship with Israel”.