Dutch Churches: Recognizing Palestine is a Human Necessity
Protestant churches in the Netherlands announced through a statement that human necessity dictates that Palestine must be formally recognized.
According to the Dutch newspaper “Trouw” reporting on the Palestine Information Center, leaders of Protestant churches in the country, by signing an official statement, called on the Dutch interim government to formally recognize the state of Palestine. The statement also requested that The Hague pressure the Zionist regime to stop violence in the West Bank, establish a ceasefire in Gaza, send humanitarian aid, and secure a mutual release of prisoners.
“Caroline Jespers,” the initiator of this movement, said in an interview with Trouw: “I have been concerned about the situation in Gaza for a long time, but the moment Israel began its policy of starving the people of Gaza was a turning point for me.” She emphasized: “Recognizing Palestine by the Netherlands is not a political issue, but rather a human necessity. An independent Palestinian state is an essential condition for the safe life of this nation.”
This action comes as a new wave of international support for the establishment of a Palestinian state is underway. A number of countries, including France, the United Kingdom, and Australia, have announced that they will place the issue of formal recognition of Palestine on the agenda in upcoming sessions of the United Nations General Assembly in September.
Just in recent days, the French Foreign Minister, along with 14 other countries, issued the “New York Call,” requesting all governments to join the process of recognizing the Palestinian state. The foreign ministers of these countries, at an international Palestine meeting jointly hosted by France and Saudi Arabia at the UN headquarters, issued a joint statement that emphasized reviving the two-state solution.
“Jean-Noël Barrot,” France’s Foreign Minister, also wrote on social media platform X: “In New York, France, together with 14 other countries, presented our collective request and declared that we express our willingness to recognize the State of Palestine and invite those who have not yet done so to join us.”
The signatories of this statement include countries such as Andorra, Australia, Canada, Finland, France, Iceland, Ireland, Luxembourg, Malta, New Zealand, Norway, Portugal, San Marino, Slovenia, and Spain. In the text of this statement, the 15 countries have expressed their “unwavering commitment” to realizing the two-state solution vision.
Among these countries, 9 governments, including Australia, Canada, and New Zealand, have not yet formally recognized Palestine, but have announced they are positively reviewing the matter. Diplomatic sources also reported that 17 other countries, along with the European Union and the Arab League, called in this meeting for an end to the war and also for removing Hamas from the administration of Gaza.
In such circumstances, the joining of Dutch Protestant churches to the campaign for recognizing Palestine reflects an increase in social and religious pressure on European governments to end the tragic situation in Gaza and the West Bank.
