Today marks 77 years since the ethnic cleansing of 750 000 Palestinians in the Zionist efforts to clear up space for the Jewish State of Israel. As we have just commemorated the end of World War II and the victims of the fascist Nazi regime, today – especially here in Europe and the Netherlands – we should pause to study the part of history of this period that is much less known, let alone publicly commemorated.

The history of Nakba, with its roots in the Zionist movement of the late 19th century, reads as a story of Western imperialism and colonial abuse of power and should be recognised as such. Especially in the current political atmosphere of war mongering and xenophobia, epitomised in Donald Trump’s ethnically cleansed vision of Gaza as the ‘Riviera of the Middle East,’ we must stop fooling ourselves regarding the ‘western values’ and ideals of democracy and rule of law. The Nazis’ Final Solution to the ‘Jewish problem’ was nothing else than concluding the way of thinking and the method of white supremacy. The Nakba was, and is, the outcome of the western effort to solve the same problem in a ‘humane’ way by externalising it and exporting it to Israel. This kind of ‘humanity,’ however, doesn’t include the Palestinians.

Another colonial erasure of indigenous people

The Nakba of the last 77 years is essentially not different from what happened in the Americas, Australia, New Zealand and many other parts of the world where western imperialists and colonialists have murdered and oppressed indigenous people in the past 400+ years. After 77 years of ethnic cleansing and oppression, and now 19 months of genocide in Gaza, the Palestinians are still among us. They still live in the West Bank, East Jerusalem and Gaza and in the diaspora around the world. That is what we commemorate and celebrate today: an indigenous people resisting the imperial powers and existing against all odds.

A line in the sand? No – it’s time for real action

Last week, Dutch foreign minister Caspar Veldkamp finally made a timid move: he acknowledged that the blockade of Gaza violates international law. A statement that, frankly, should have been made years ago. And yet, even now — after more than 50,000 deaths, bombed hospitals, and a humanitarian catastrophe of historic scale — it remains just that: a statement. No sanctions, no diplomatic pressure, no meaningful action. Just a line in the sand.

DiEM25 welcomes any step towards acknowledging the injustice taking place in Gaza. But let’s not pretend this ministerial comment is a breakthrough. It is the bare minimum. The moral compass of any government should respond when human rights are violated — not just when the media spotlight becomes unbearable.

Silence is not neutrality

What’s happening in Gaza is not a “conflict” or “escalation” — it is a colonial war, a siege, and a campaign of ethnic cleansing. As long as the Dutch government offers only vague diplomatic murmurs, it remains part of the problem. The time for statements is over. In line with DiEM25’s official stance on the matter we suggest the following:

• Summon the Israeli ambassador (again) and consider severing  diplomatic ties as long as the violence continues
• Implement an immediate arms embargo against Israel
• Fully support the International Criminal Court, including cooperating with arrest warrants for war criminals
• Hold companies like Booking.com and Shell accountable for their complicity in the occupation
• Recognise the Palestinian state, as other European countries are now preparing to do. This as a first step to a more permanent one (secular) state solution

DiEM25: For a Europe of peace, not passivity

What Gaza needs is not Dutch “concern” but solidarity and decisive action. Europe must not look away. DiEM25 therefore calls for:

• Massive citizen mobilisation for Gaza
• A European citizens’ initiative to impose sanctions on Israeli state and corporate actors complicit in war crimes
• An international grassroots peace coalition, to break through political cowardice

Minister Veldkamp drew a line in the sand. Fine. Now he must cross it — and bring the rest of the government with him.

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