ISTANBUL

Dutch Prime Minister Dick Schoof said Monday that the Netherlands is prepared to support suspending Israel’s participation in the European Union’s Horizon research program if Brussels determines that Israel is obstructing humanitarian aid access to Gaza.

“The government’s goal is crystal clear: the people of Gaza must be given immediate, unfettered, safe access to humanitarian aid,” Schoof said on X following a high-level meeting with deputy prime ministers and the foreign and defense ministers over what he described as the “catastrophic situation” in Gaza.

He noted that if the EU concludes that Israel is not in compliance with agreements related to humanitarian access, “the Netherlands supports the plan to suspend Israeli participation in the EU research program Horizon.”

Schoof added that the Dutch government will also push for “further European measures,” including possible steps in the area of trade, during Tuesday’s EU meeting in Brussels.

“We are also considering taking national measures to increase the pressure,” he said.

Schoof said he conveyed the Dutch government’s position during a phone call with Israeli President Isaac Herzog earlier in the day.

He also called on the Palestinian group Hamas to fully cooperate in facilitating humanitarian aid access to civilians in Gaza.

“Later today, the government will send a letter to the House of Representatives to explain what the Netherlands is doing in this regard, both in an individual capacity and as a member of the EU,” he added.