THE HAGUE, 09/04/09 - The terrorism threat in the Netherlands remains 'substantial'. This means that there is a realistic chance that an attack will take place against Dutch interests at home and abroad, the National Coordinator for Counterterrorism NCTB stated yesterday in its quarterly report.
The greatest threat is posed by jihadist networks and organisations outside the Netherlands. "The Netherlands remains a 'legitimate' target for these groups because of the presence of Dutch troops in Afghanistan and the alleged insults to Islam in the Netherlands".
The threat posed by Dutch jihadist networks is unchanged since the previous report period. "The situation in relation to local autonomous jihadist networks in the Netherlands remains relatively quiet," but "a new development is that members of local autonomous networks develop more international jihadist contacts".
The armed conflict in Gaza between Israel and Hamas "released many emotions" within the Dutch Muslim communities, and not just the Moroccan ones. "Dutch Turks, who often react less strongly to events in the Middle East, have been clearly agitated on this theme."
The many reactions show "that there is considerable anxiety and anger about the large number of Palestinian victims", but also "that the Dutch government has seemed to show more sympathy for the nature and scale of the actions of the Israeli army in Gaza" while there was also "criticism of the Dutch media for being too one-sided (too pro-Israel) in their reporting."
In its press release, the NCTB does not mention the alleged increase in Jihad websites, but does warn against an increase in "anti-Islamic communication" on Dutch internet sites. "Right-wing and extremist websites in particular often display content showing a strong aversion to Islam and Muslims in general. The anti-Islamic content appears predominantly when events take place in society that involve Islam or Muslims."
On the other hand, Muslims in the Netherlands are strongly opposed to radicalism, the NCTB claims. "The resistance within the Dutch Muslim communities to polarisation, radicalisation and terrorism remains high."
