A visit to the Netherlands by far-right Israeli Foreign Minister Avigdor Lieberman has drawn criticism from Labour Party MP Martijn van Dam.

The Labour Party is a member of the ruling coalition, but Mr Van Dam joins the opposition in criticising government policy on Israel and the Palestinians.

Mr Lieberman, who heads the ultranationalist Yisrael Beiteinu party, has repeatedly made racist remarks about the Palestinians. Mr van Dam criticises Christian Democrat Foreign Minister Maxime Verhagen for being prepared to offer a welcome to the controversial Israeli minister, when he turned down an official visit from the Dalai Lama earlier this year.

The Labour MP also equates talking to Mr Lieberman with talking to the radical Palestinian group Hamas, a step the government refuses to take. The other coalition parties, the Christian Democrats and the Christian Union, categorically reject the comparison. They say it is only logical that Mr Verhagen should receive a democratically foreign counterpart. They also claim that since his election Mr Lieberman has become more moderate.

Read more...