The Gulf Time Newspaper One of the finest business newspapers in the UAE brought to you by our professional writers and editors.
The Hague/ AFP
A Dutch MP caused on a storm Thursday after he refused to shake hands with Benjamin Netanyahu during the Israeli Prime Minister’s visit to parliament.
On the second and final day of a trip to The Netherlands, Netanyahu met Wednesday with top Dutch politicians at the parliament building in The Hague.
But as the Israeli leader passed down a line of MPs to meet and greet them, Tunahan Kuzu pointedly put his right hand to his chest and then behind his back as Netanyhau stretched his out.
Kuzu, who was born in Turkey before coming to The Netherlands as a child, is the leader of the Denk political anti-racist movement launched in February 2015 which advocates for the rights of immigrants.
The awkward moment was caught on video, with Netanyahu then seen shrugging and rolling his eyes as he moved along the line.
By Thursday the video was being shared widely on social media, gaining both praise and criticism.
Kuzu, who was wearing a badge of the Palestinian flag, said Thursday in a Facebook post that when the cameras had left he showed the Israeli leader various photos of Palestinian children.
A day earlier Netanyahu in a joint press conference with Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte said Israel was the “one country” in the Middle East “that promotes democracy … and technology.”
Kuzu said he had presented photos of a Palestinian child held in a headlock by an Israeli soldier, and another of a soldier pointing a gun at a Palestinian mother and two children, and asked “Is this democracy? Is this technology?”
Netanyahu’s visit has stirred some emotions in The Netherlands, which plays host to the International Criminal Court (ICC), with some protestors calling for the Israeli leader to be brought before the tribunal.
The ICC, the world’s only permanent war crimes court, has opened a preliminary inquiry into possible crimes by both sides in the Palestinian territories.