Editing Dries van Agt (section)

===Activism===
[[File:Dries van Agt, September 2010, Amsterdam.jpg|thumb|Dries van Agt, September 2010, Amsterdam]]
Van Agt lectured in Cairo in May 2006 at the invitation of the Egyptian electronic magazine Arab-West Report about great changes in the cultural climate of north-western Europe in the past decades, becoming more hostile to religion, including Islam. Muslims, he argued, need to understand those changes to be able to respond better to European criticism of Islam and the Muslim world.<ref>For the full text of his lecture, entitled, "Cultures between Clash and Reconciliation: The Role of the Media and Academia," see AWR, 2006, week 53, art. 3</ref>

Van Agt also spoke against the Council of State in Egypt for continuous delay in granting the [[Center for Arab-West Understanding]] (CAWU) the NGO status. He met with prominent figures in Egypt to persuade them to do so. The Egyptian Council of State, after van Agt's visit to Cairo in 2006, ruled on 18 February 2007 that the center should be recognized as an NGO under Egyptian law, ending its three-year struggle to obtain this status. Egypt is known for its reluctance in granting NGO status to discourage political participation. [[Cornelis Hulsman]], a Dutch sociologist, the editor-in-chief of Arab-West Report, and the head of CAWU, stated that van Agt's effort significantly impacted the realization of their goals, which usually requires a lengthy amount of time and scrutiny in its political purposes.

For some years, Van Agt took an outspoken stance regarding the Middle East, resulting in a fierce criticism of the policies undertaken by the government of Israel with regard to the Palestinians. When in office, Van Agt was a staunch supporter of Israel, but after he stepped down in 1982, he changed his mind.<ref>[http://www.rnw.nl/english/article/former-dutch-pm-champions-palestinian-cause "Former Dutch PM champions Palestinian cause"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20091213154915/http://www.rnw.nl/english/article/former-dutch-pm-champions-palestinian-cause |date=13 December 2009 }}, ''[[Radio Netherlands Worldwide]]'' (10 December 2009).</ref> According to his own words an important turning point was a visit at the late nineties at [[Bethlehem University]] on the Israeli-occupied [[West Bank]].<ref>{{in lang|nl}} [http://www.driesvanagt.nl/p_mijnpublicaties009.pdf "De bekering van Dries van Agt"] {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131019203328/http://www.driesvanagt.nl/p_mijnpublicaties009.pdf |date=19 October 2013 }}, HP|DE TIJD, 29 September 2006</ref><ref>{{in lang|nl}} [http://archief.nrc.nl/?modus=l&text=Ik+kan+het+wel+uitschreeuwen&hit=7&set=2&check=Y "Ik kan het wel uitschreeuwen"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160920101456/http://archief.nrc.nl/?modus=l&text=Ik+kan+het+wel+uitschreeuwen&hit=7&set=2&check=Y |date=20 September 2016 }}, interview oud-premier Dries van Agt, NRC Handelsblad, 22 August 2009</ref> He accused Israel of "[[state terrorism]]" and turning the Palestinian Authority territories into "[[bantustan]]s".<ref>Cnaan Liphshiz, [http://www.haaretz.com/news/dutch-jimmy-carter-accuses-israel-of-terrorism-in-new-book-1.248633 'Dutch Jimmy Carter' accuses Israel of terrorism in new book] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170528090100/http://www.haaretz.com/news/dutch-jimmy-carter-accuses-israel-of-terrorism-in-new-book-1.248633 |date=28 May 2017 }} ''[[Haaretz]]'' (27 June 2008).</ref>

In 2009, Van Agt founded The Rights Forum, a non-profit organization aimed at promoting a “just and sustainable Dutch and European policy regarding the Palestine/Israel issue”.<ref name="apdeath"/> In 2012, he said that Jews should have had a state in Germany instead of Israel.<ref>[http://www.timesofisrael.com/former-dutch-pm-jews-shouldve-had-a-state-in-germany Former Dutch PM: Jews should have had a state in Germany] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181027062413/http://www.timesofisrael.com/former-dutch-pm-jews-shouldve-had-a-state-in-germany/ |date=27 October 2018 }}, ''[[The Times of Israel]]'' (11 November 2012).</ref> In September 2016, in reference to the visit of [[Prime Minister of Israel]] [[Benjamin Netanyahu]] to the Netherlands, Van Agt argued that the ongoing Israeli occupation of the [[Palestinian territories]] and the building of [[Israeli settlement|settlements]] there constituted a [[war crime]] under the [[Rome Statute]] and suggested that Netanyahu should have been sent to the [[International Criminal Court]].<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/europe/former-dutch-pm-dries-van-agt-benjamin-netanyahu-war-criminal-tried-the-hague-a7228566.html |title=Former Dutch PM calls Benjamin Netanyahu a 'war criminal' who should be tried in The Hague |last1=Cockburn |first1=Harry |date=6 September 2016 |website=[[independent.co.uk]] |access-date=27 September 2016 |archive-date=16 June 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240616125042/https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/europe/former-dutch-pm-dries-van-agt-benjamin-netanyahu-war-criminal-tried-the-hague-a7228566.html |url-status=live }}</ref>