ANPKauthar Bouchallikht during her swearing-in as Member of Parliament in 2021.
NOS News•today, 00:35•Adjusted today, 01:17
Member of Parliament Kauthar Bouchallikht has withdrawn from the GroenLinks/PvdA candidate list for next month’s elections. She believes that her party has paid too little attention to the context of the Palestinian-Israeli conflict in the past week, she writes in an message on Instagram. “This is no longer the party I want to be a member of parliament for.”
“This ‘war’ did not suddenly start, it has been going on for 75 years,” she writes. “Now is the time for context. Context is not a denial of the horrible actions by Hamas last weekend. Context is recognizing where they come from, namely the actions of the Israeli government, also against the wishes of many Israelis and Jewish people in.”
Preferential votes
Bouchallikht writes that she had several conversations within the faction and party last week about topics she missed, such as the Nakba, but found them “not constructive”. “Party democracy was hard to find at times, while our members have always been vocal on this point and there was room for it.”
Bouchallikht entered the House of Representatives with preferential votes in 2021 and was in 17th place on the GroenLinks/PvdA list for next month’s elections. That list was established yesterday at the conference in Rotterdam.
At that conference, about a hundred members of GroenLinks expressed their dissatisfaction with the party’s position. They felt that party leader Timmermans and faction chairman Klaver condemned Hamas’ violence and expressed their support for Israel too one-sidedly. In consultation with the board, they came up with a new motion. It still provides a strong condemnation of the bloody attack by Hamas, but at the same time draws attention to the situation of the Palestinian population.
‘Example for many’
GroenLinks faction leader Klaver writes in a reaction that Bouchallikht’s decision surprises and saddens him. “I have found it a privilege to work with you in recent years. This is your decision and I respect it. You are an example to many and you will remain so,” said Klaver.
Bouchallikht responded on top with a yellow heart. She stated on social media that she will still vote for GroenLinks/PvdA, “because I still believe that it is better for the Netherlands”.
2023-10-14 22:35:28
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