Rob Jetten says "the situation in Gaza, the West Bank, but also in Jordan and Syria is unacceptable"

At a Friday press briefing, Dutch Prime Minister Rob Jetten said his government had told Israel directly that it views conditions across Gaza, the West Bank, Jordan and Syria with grave concern. He was responding to questions about his decision to skip a major Amsterdam protest against Israel’s Gaza war, which organizers said drew roughly 200,000 people. Jetten noted he had joined a similar rally last year as opposition D66 leader but said serving as prime minister made attendance inappropriate. He again would not apply the term genocide to Israel’s campaign, though he had done so a year earlier, and he dismissed demands for an arms embargo or such a declaration. His coalition includes the VVD, whose leadership is strongly pro-Israel; former officials Job Cohen and Jozias van Aartsen criticized his position and joined the protest.