Dutch government to recognise Gaza Strip and West Bank as birthplaces for Palestinians

The Dutch government has announced it will begin recognising the Gaza Strip and the occupied West Bank, including East Jerusalem, as official birthplaces for Palestinians who were born in the country after the establishment of Israel.

While the Netherlands does not yet recognise the State of Palestine, it will recognise those Palestinian territories as the origin of birth for those born after May 15, 1948, when the British Mandate officially ended.

The announcement was made by Dutch State Secretary Raymond Knops at The Hague.

According to an Interior Ministry release published on Saturday, Knops said the Gaza Strip and occupied West Bank would be added to the list of territories that the Dutch civil registry accepts.

According to the statement, Knops noted the new category is in accordance with “the Dutch viewpoint that Israel has no sovereignty over these areas”, as well as the Netherlands’ refusal to recognise Palestine as a state.

He said the new category reflects the terms agreed upon in the Oslo Peace Accords signed between Israel and the Palestine Liberation Organization in the 1990s and in subsequent United Nations Security Council resolutions.