Dutch Foreign Minister Caspar Veldkamp resigned on Friday, 22 August, after a cabinet meeting failed to reach consensus on additional punitive measures against Israel, further destabilising the country’s caretaker administration. Veldkamp, 61, said he was “insufficiently able to take meaningful additional measures to increase pressure on Israel” after ministers from the liberal VVD and agrarian BBB parties blocked his proposals, which included banning imports from Israeli settlements. The foreign minister has been outspoken over Israel’s military campaign in Gaza and its approval of a contested West Bank settlement project. The resignation triggered the departure of the remaining ministers from Veldkamp’s New Social Contract party, deepening uncertainty within Prime Minister Dick Schoof’s minority cabinet less than ten weeks before national elections scheduled for 29 October. The Netherlands is among 21 European nations that this week condemned Israel’s settlement expansion as “contrary to international law.” On the same day as Veldkamp’s exit, UN monitors declared famine in Gaza City, heightening pressure on European governments to toughen their stance toward Israel’s war effort.