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Green Left becomes first major Dutch party to back Israel boycott

February 27, 2019 at 1:15 pm

People gather at Dam Square holding flags and banners during a demonstration organised by ‘Palestinian House in Netherlands’ Foundation, in support of Palestine on 30 December 2018 in Amsterdam, Netherlands [Abdullah Aşıran/Anadolu Agency]

The Dutch Green Left Party has become the first mainstream political movement in the Netherlands to endorse a boycott of Israel.

The party backed the Palestinian-led, Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions (BDS) movement during its General Congress meeting on 16 February.

“BDS is a legitimate means to help Palestinians in their fight for justice,” the motion in question states. The motion also states that the Green Left “will be alert and resist forcefully attempts in any country to criminalise BDS”.

The Green Left has 14 out of 150 seats in the House of Representatives, the lower house of the Dutch parliament.

In response to the news, the Dutch Centre for Information and Documentation on Israel, a pro-Israel advocacy group, condemned the Green Left, and claimed that BDS “is linked to terrorist groups”.

READ: Israel’s anti-BDS strategy simply peddles more myths and lies