A controversial Israeli-born right-wing Dutch politician has ignited a national firestorm after calling for European borders to be shut to Palestinian refugees through the use of lethal, excessive force, drawing formal accusations of incitement to violence and widespread condemnation across the Dutch political spectrum.
Gidi Markuszower, who split from Geert Wilders’ far-right Party for Freedom (PVV) earlier this year to launch his own nationalist party, The Dutch Alliance, made the inflammatory remarks during a recorded video interview with independent Dutch media platform Left Laser.
During the discussion about the entry of Palestinian asylum seekers to the Netherlands, Markuszower repeatedly insisted that force must be used to block their arrival. “We need to stop them with force, even more force than they are fleeing from,” he said. “The Netherlands and all of Europe must turn them away at the border with force.” When pressed by the interviewer to clarify whether this meant using greater violence than the Israeli military currently employs in Gaza, Markuszower affirmed, “If necessary, with force.”
When asked directly if that would mean border security forces shooting unarmed Palestinians attempting to cross into the country, Markuszower did not back down. “With force, yes,” he replied. Pressed further on whether Royal Netherlands Marechaussee border guards should use service rifles to shoot people seeking entry, the lawmaker doubled down: “They do not have a valid visa, so they have no right to enter. If they persist in trying to cross, you have to defend yourself. Use maximum force.”
Markuszower went even further in his anti-Palestinian rhetoric, claiming that roughly 90% of Palestinians vote for Hamas and are inherently committed to a “culture of destruction.” He added that Palestinians should remain in “Arabia” or “wither away” in the Gaza Strip, echoing far-right tropes that have drawn widespread rebuke from human rights groups.
The Rights Forum, a leading Dutch human rights organization, has announced it will file a formal criminal complaint against Markuszower for incitement to violence against asylum seekers. The group labeled the lawmaker’s comments “morally reprehensible,” arguing that in a democratic constitutional state, such dangerous rhetoric demands review by the Public Prosecution Service and adjudication by the courts.
The controversy comes amid ongoing debate over asylum policy in the Netherlands. Data shows that just under 6,000 people applied for asylum in the country during the first quarter of 2026, with roughly 1,100 applicants listed as holding “unknown nationality” – a classification that includes Palestinian refugees, as the Netherlands does not formally recognize Palestinian statehood.
This is not the first time Markuszower has been mired in controversy over extremist rhetoric and security concerns. Born in Tel Aviv, he previously served as a spokesperson for the Dutch branch of Israel’s ruling Likud Party. In 2024, Wilders’ far-right incoming government planned to appoint Markuszower as deputy prime minister and migration minister, but withdrew the nomination following undisclosed security concerns flagged by Dutch intelligence services. This marks a decades-long pattern: in 2010, Markuszower dropped out of a parliamentary race after intelligence linked him to an unnamed foreign security service, widely reported by local media to be Israel’s Mossad. Despite that scrutiny, he won election to the Dutch Senate in 2015 and to the House of Representatives two years later. He has also been detained by police on weapons possession charges, though he was never ultimately prosecuted. In 2023, he drew outrage for claiming “the African jungle” was coming to the Netherlands “en masse.”
This latest set of remarks has drawn sharp condemnation from across mainstream Dutch political parties this week. Jesse Klaver, leader of the center-left GroenLinks-PvdA alliance, called the comments “deeply abhorrent language, an absolute low point” for Dutch politics. Jan Paternotte, a senior lawmaker with the social liberal Democrats 66 party, echoed the criticism, saying: “What complete idiocy. Stop this dangerous contest of outbidding the radical right.”
The report was originally published by Middle East Eye, an independent media outlet covering the Middle East and North Africa region.