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Tens of thousands protest in The Hague to demand Dutch government action on Gaza war

Demonstrators gather on the Malieveld for the Red Line protest in The Hague, Netherlands on Sunday, May 18, 2025.
Demonstrators gather on the Malieveld for the Red Line protest in The Hague, Netherlands on Sunday, May 18, 2025. Copyright  Niels van der Pas via AP
Copyright Niels van der Pas via AP
By Emma De Ruiter
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Human rights groups and aid agencies — including Amnesty International, Save the Children and Doctors Without Borders — estimated the peaceful crowd at more than 100,000 people.

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Tens of thousands of red-clad protesters marched through The Hague on Sunday to demand government action to seek a halt to Israel's campaign in Gaza.

Organisers called it the country's biggest demonstration in two decades, with human rights groups and aid agencies — including Amnesty International, Save the Children and Doctors Without Borders — estimating the peaceful crowd at more than 100,000 people.

The streets of the Dutch political capital were packed with the old, young and even some babies on their first protest.

Roos Lingbeek, right, husband Stijn Joosten and daughter Dido stand in front of the Peace Palace during the Red Line protest in The Hague, Netherlands on Sunday, May 18, 2025.
Roos Lingbeek, right, husband Stijn Joosten and daughter Dido stand in front of the Peace Palace during the Red Line protest in The Hague, Netherlands on Sunday, May 18, 2025. Niels van der Pas via AP

“We hope this is a wake-up call for the government,” said teacher Roos Lingbeek, attending the march with her husband and their 12-week-old daughter, Dido, who slept in a carrier as her parents brandished a sign simply reading: “STOP.”

The march went past the Peace Palace, headquarters of the United Nations’ International Court of Justice, where last year judges ordered Israel to do all it can to prevent death, destruction and any acts of genocide in Gaza.

Protesters walked a 5-kilometre loop around the city centre of The Hague, to symbolically create the red line they say the government has failed to set.

Protesters carry a banner that reads We trekken een rode lijn voor Gaza (We draw a red line for Gaza) during the Red Line protest in The Hague, Netherlands on 18 May, 2025.
Protesters carry a banner that reads We trekken een rode lijn voor Gaza (We draw a red line for Gaza) during the Red Line protest in The Hague, Netherlands on 18 May, 2025. Niels van der Pas via AP

“We are calling on the Dutch government: stop political, economic and military support to Israel as long as it blocks access to aid supplies and while it is guilty of genocide, war crimes and structural human rights violations in Gaza and the Occupied Palestinian Territories,” Marjon Rozema of Amnesty International said.

Demonstrators attend the Red Line protest in The Hague, Netherlands on Sunday, May 18, 2025.
Demonstrators attend the Red Line protest in The Hague, Netherlands on Sunday, May 18, 2025. Niels van der Pas via AP

Dutch policy toward Israel is just one of many issues causing splits in the Netherlands’ fragile coalition government. Hard-right leader Geert Wilders is staunchly pro-Israel and his anti-immigrant Party for Freedom holds the largest number of seats in the country’s parliament.

In a post on X, Wilders accused the protesters of supporting Hamas, calling them "confused."

Last week, however, foreign affairs minister Caspar Veldkamp of the minority centre-right VVD party urged the European Union to review a trade agreement with Israel, arguing that its blockade of humanitarian aid violated international law. Wilders hit back, denouncing the call as an “affront to cabinet policy.”

Additional sources • AP

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