Foreign minister Frans Timmermans says the violence being wreaked by Israel on Gaza is ‘unacceptable’.

In an opinion piece in the NRC on Tuesday, Timmermans calls for an independent inquiry into the bombardment of UN schools and a hospital.

He writes that the Israeli bombardment and the Hamas rockets ‘only increase the hate, the fear and the hopelessness’.

However, he does not point the finger of blame, saying that only once the fighting stops can the underlying reasons for the violence be dealt with.

Polarisation

He does warn for polarisation in the Netherlands. ‘This is not a fight between Jews and Muslims. Anyone who turns it into one not only falls into a trap set by radicals, but removes our chance to be a positive influence in the region,’ he writes.

Israel began its offensive in Gaza four weeks ago. There is currently a cease-fire in operation.