Geert Wilders is the founder and leader of the Dutch Freedom Party. He wrote on his Facebook page: “Obama betrayed Israel. Thank God for Trump. My advice to my Israeli friends: ignore the UN and keep building more and more settlements.”
Wilders was voted politician of the year 2016 when 40,000 people participated in the annual public election held by Dutch tv-show ‘EenVandaag’.
His Dutch Freedom Party has dominated Dutch polls during the year of 2016. According to reports the party is slated to become the largest party in the Dutch parliament. This is despite of and perhaps because of his conviction a last week for incitement to discrimination. He is known for his sharp criticism of Islam and upon asking some pertinent security questions about Morrocans he was found guilty of racism. He is also outspoken in his support for Israel.
Wilders once lived in Israel on a moshav for two years, and has since visited the country 40 times in the last 25 years.
He had this to say about Israel:
“I have visited many interesting countries in the Middle East – from Syria to Egypt, from Tunisia to Turkey, from Cyprus to Iran – but nowhere did I have the special feeling of solidarity that I always get when I land at Ben Gurion International Airport.”
Wilders told audiences in Holland that “We [in the West] are all Israel”. He has also said “Israel is the West's first line of defense” against the threat to world security that Islam poses.
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Wilders also has a novel and simple solution to the Palestinian problem stating that “Jordan is Palestine. Changing its name to Palestine will end the conflict in the Middle East and provide the Palestinians with an alternate homeland.” He has also asked the Dutch government to refer to Jordan as Palestine and move its embassy to Jerusalem.