Dutch Far-Right Lawmaker Faces Incitement Complaint Over Call to Use Lethal Force Against Palestinian Refugees
A Dutch far-right lawmaker has drawn a formal incitement complaint and widespread parliamentary condemnation after calling for Palestinian asylum seekers to be stopped from entering the Netherlands with lethal force — specifically stating that “more force than where they came from” should be used if necessary.
Gidi Markuszower made the comments in a video interview with the media platform Left Laser, published on May 15, 2026. The remarks spread rapidly across Dutch political circles and drew an immediate legal response from a human rights organisation. middleeasteye
What He Said
Discussing Palestinian refugees, Markuszower repeatedly stated that they should be stopped from entering the country “with force.” “With force, maybe with even more force than what they fled from. They need to be stopped with force by the Netherlands and all of Europe,” he said. middleeasteye
When the interviewer asked whether that meant stopping Palestinians with more violence than Israel is currently using, he responded: “If necessary, with force.”
The interviewer then pressed further, asking: “What exactly do you mean by that? Would the Royal Netherlands Marechaussee stand at the border holding Heckler & Koch rifles and use them to shoot Palestinians trying to enter the country?” Markuszower responded: “Not let them in. You don’t have a visa, you are not allowed to come here. And if they still come, then yes, you have to defend yourself. Maximum force.” middleeasteye
He did not stop there. Markuszower also called for Palestinians to stay in “Arabia,” or “wither away” in Gaza. He said: “You and I get up in the morning to make something of ourselves, but the average Palestinian, about 90 percent or so, votes for Hamas. And so they wake up with the thought that they want to kill people. Ninety percent support their culture of destruction.” middleeasteye
Legal Complaint and Political Reaction
The Rights Forum, a human rights organisation, said it will file a complaint against Markuszower for incitement to violence against asylum seekers, calling his comments “morally reprehensible.” “In a democratic constitutional state, such statements ought to be reviewed by the Public Prosecution Service and punished by the court,” it said. middleeasteye
The reaction inside the Dutch parliament was swift and cross-party. Jesse Klaver, leader of the GroenLinks-PvdA alliance, called the comments “deeply abhorrent language, an absolute low point.” middleeasteye
Jan Paternotte, of the Democrats 66 party, said: “What complete idiocy. Stop this dangerous contest of outbidding the radical right.” middleeasteye
Who Is Gidi Markuszower
Markuszower was born in Tel Aviv and has formerly worked as a spokesperson for the Netherlands branch of Israel’s ruling Likud party. His political career has been marked by both ambition and repeated controversy. middleeasteye
He had previously been a member of the Party for Freedom (PVV), the far-right party led by Geert Wilders, but left in January 2026 and founded his own party, The Dutch Alliance. middleeasteye
In 2024, the far-right government led by Wilders was set to appoint Markuszower as deputy prime minister and migration minister, but retracted the nomination over security concerns flagged by Dutch intelligence services. It was not made clear exactly what those concerns were. middleeasteye
His history with Dutch intelligence runs deeper than that. In 2010, Markuszower backed out from running for Dutch parliament after intelligence agencies linked him to a foreign security service, which media reports cited as likely being Israel’s Mossad. That did not end his political career. He was elected to the upper house of parliament five years later and to the lower house two years after that. middleeasteyemiddleeasteye
Markuszower has also been detained by police for possession of a weapon, though he was not charged. In 2023, he told Dutch lawmakers that “the African jungle” was coming to the Netherlands “en masse.” middleeasteye
The Asylum Context
In the first quarter of 2026, just under 6,000 people applied for asylum in the Netherlands. Around 1,100 of them applied with an “unknown nationality,” a category which includes Palestinian refugees. middleeasteye
The Netherlands does not recognise Palestinian statehood. That position places it among a minority of European Union member states on the question of Palestinian recognition, even as the war in Gaza has intensified international debate on the issue. middleeasteye
Regional and European Impact
The comments land at a moment of heightened sensitivity across Europe regarding Palestinian refugees and the domestic politics of migration. According to Middle East Eye, Markuszower’s remarks drew condemnation not only for their content but for the broader competitive dynamic they reflect — several Dutch politicians warned that far-right parties are escalating their rhetoric in ways that may normalise calls for violence against asylum seekers. The Rights Forum’s decision to seek prosecution rather than issue a statement alone signals that legal mechanisms are now being tested against political speech of this kind in the Netherlands.
Background
The Netherlands has seen a pronounced shift toward the far right in its domestic politics over the past several years, with Geert Wilders’ PVV becoming the largest party in parliament following the November 2023 elections. Migration, and in particular the treatment of asylum seekers, has been a defining political fault line. The war in Gaza, which began on October 7, 2023, sharpened that divide — Palestinian asylum applications have increased across Europe since then, and Dutch politicians have clashed repeatedly over how to respond. The Netherlands has also faced separate scrutiny over its relationship with Israel, including a 2025 Dutch intelligence report that, according to Middle East Eye, identified Israel as a foreign threat for the first time.
What Happens Next
The Rights Forum has said it will file a formal complaint with Dutch authorities, calling for the Public Prosecution Service to review Markuszower’s statements and for a court to determine whether they constitute incitement to violence. It was not immediately clear when that complaint would be lodged or how quickly prosecutors would act. Markuszower had not issued a retraction or clarification of his remarks as of the time of publication. His party, The Dutch Alliance, which he founded in January 2026, remains a new and as yet minor force in Dutch parliament, and no coalition partners had issued formal responses to the incident by the time of publication. middleeasteye
