Kromhout Kazerne
Join us in the intifada against militarism!
What we're occupying right now
Our manifesto: to globalise the intifada means to fight the military-industrial complex
Globalize the intifada
We are part of a movement that answers the calls of Palestinian movements for globalizing the intifada. To struggle for Palestinian liberation is to struggle for the liberation of all of us. In the Arabic language, the word "intifada", derived from the root "nafada" meaning "to shake off", refers not only to the Palestinian struggle, but also to courageous acts of resistance throughout history, from the Irish Easter Rising of 1916 to the Jewish Warsaw Ghetto Uprising of 1943. We take seriously this broadest possible meaning of intifada, where our liberation is bound up with the liberation of Palestine, and with freedom from war, borders and persecution everywhere.
We are all Palestinians
The people setting up this encampment do not have to go to sleep worrying a bomb will wake them up and kill them and their loved ones. The unspeakable suffering in Gaza is incomparable to what we have to face in the Netherlands. And yet, we are all Palestinians. We are all Palestinians, because injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere. The weapons that Israel uses to kill Palestinians today will be sold to the Netherlands and other imperialist powers tomorrow. Our governments use these weapons to strengthen the borders of Fortress Europe and loot natural resources across the world. They exploit the historical trauma of our Jewish comrades to divide and isolate us from each other. But we will stand as one.
Tear down the military-industrial complex
To struggle for a free Palestine means struggling against militarism, and vice versa. To struggle against those who make a profit off spreading war across the world in the name of "security". Zionism is just one part of a global colonial system that is perpetuating violence and suffering at our borders, in Sudan, Congo, Yemen, West Papua and elsewhere. The military-industrial complex and arms trade with Israel is not meant to "keep us safe", but to protect the wealth and power of the 1 percent. We refute our safety and the safety of our Jewish comrades to be invoked for justifying imperialist war and genocide. A truly safe world can only be built on justice and liberation for all.
Join us
With a fresh fascist government in place and the biggest opposition party still in support of the imperialist war machine, we refuse to ask for favours from those with parliamentary power. We address you, anyone who exists in the Netherlands, with a call to disobey. The worker who has the power to lay down their work, anyone who is tired of just watching the world burn and wants to refuse complicity in genocide. Anyone who is willing and able to retake their agency from those in power. Anyone who knows that a ceasefire under occupation is not enough. We will not rest until there's justice and liberation for all.
Our goals
1) The supply and procurement of arms and technology to and from Israel, as well as the treaties that enable this trade, must be ended immediately.
The Netherlands supplies arms and technology to Israel. The supply of F-35 parts, which has been banned due to the high risk of serious violations of humanitarian law of war, continues via a US stealth route. Furthermore, the Palestinian territories are a laboratory for Israel to test new weapons and repressive technologies. Gaza is now testing the weapons the Netherlands will buy: as recently as April 2023, the House of Representatives approved a defence treaty with Israel to further expand military cooperation. This genocidal arms trade must stop.
2) The explosive growth of military spending and the relaxation of arms export rules must be stopped.
Dutch military spending has more than doubled since 2019 and is up 40 per cent this year compared to 2023, 28 per cent of which is for new arms and technology. This indicates serious war preparation. The dominant narrative in Dutch textbooks and in the media is that our armed forces are there to promote peace and security worldwide. However, Dutch policy, together with its NATO partners, is to secure access to resources that our insatiable economic system devours. We refuse to see our "security" misused to justify imperialist wars!
3) Deadly border policies, including detention centres and the militarisation of borders by Frontex, must end.
More than 70 million people are fleeing worldwide. European countries play a major role in creating problems that force people to flee. Wars and climate disasters force people to flee. These people are racialised and labelled as security problems. The lobby of the military-industrial complex has great influence on European border security policy, through close cooperation with EU institutions. These companies profit heavily from the increasing militarisation of our borders and the imprisonment of people, including children, here in the Netherlands. This deadly border policy must stop. Break down the borders!