52 INFLUENTIAL DUTCH CALL FOR RECOGNITION OF HAMAS

Coterie of Dutch anti-Semites attack Israel (JNW)
Fifty-two influential Hollanders have joined forces to try and pressure their country into recognizing the Hamas-led Palestinian Authority and into condemning Israeli "terrorism."

The 52 - which include former prime minister Dries van Agt and former foreign minister Hans van den Broek - put their signatures to a newspaper advertisment that appeared in a number of dailies in The Netherlands.

Its publication was timed to coincide with the visit to Israel this week of Dutch Foreign Minister Maxime Verhagen, who is reportedly to inform Israel of his country's desire to be more involved in the "Palestinian"-Israel diplomatic process.

According to reports, Van Agt demanded that Verhagen "denounce not only attacks by Palestinians on Israelis, but also terrorist actions by the Israeli occupation army, which result in the death of so many Palestinians."

Forty years ago, Holland was a strong supporter of Israel, with ordinary citizens going out of their way to support the Jewish state in its war of self-defense against Arab aggression.

Today, however, with one million Muslims in the country - and in the wake of a number of terrorist murders of Dutch citizens by Muslims - popular opinion is swinging increasingly against the Jews.