The Council of State has ordered the Dutch government to end its moratorium on asylum applications from the Palestinian territories.

Deputy justice minister Eric van der Burg froze applications in December, arguing that the “uncertain” situation in Gaza and the West Bank made it impossible to devise “resilient” rules.

But the country’s highest administrative court said conditions in the region were unsafe and rejected Van der Burg’s view that the situation was temporary, which could have justified suspending applications.

It ordered the minister to resume the processing of asylum claims by three Palestinians who brought the case as well as all other decisions that were frozen on December 19.

The ruling is the latest in a series of setbacks for the government as it tries to find ways to curtail asylum numbers.

Last February the court struck out rules introduced by the cabinet to limit the right of refugees to bring their families to the Netherlands, on the grounds that it breached Dutch and European law.

The government collapsed in July when the four parties in Mark Rutte’s coalition were unable to agree on a package of measures to restrict immigration, including a cap on family reunions.

Asylum “crisis”

The four right-wing parties attempting to form a new government after last November’s election reportedly want to declare the current asylum situation a “crisis”, which would allow them to suspend their international obligations to take in refugees temporarily.

Van der Burg said the rules only allowed a crisis to be declared in extreme circumstances, such as a war or a natural disaster, whereas the problems in the Dutch asylum system are long-term and structural.

Some 53,100 asylum claims were registered in the Netherlands in the 12 months to March, according to the immigration service IND, which represents an increase of 11.5% in the last 12 months.

Geert Wilders, the leader of the far-right PVV, the largest of the four negotiating parties, has called for the borders to be closed to asylum seekers, while the VVD and BBB want the numbers to be reduced. The fourth party, NSC, says any rule changes must comply with international treaties and the Dutch constitution.