Protesters gather outside Dutch Embassy to Israel wanting answers on Netanyahu-Rutte Oct. 7 call

A statement from the Foreign Ministry on October 7 said that Netanyahu had spoken with both Rutte earlier in the day, and he had "expressed full support for Israel's right to defend itself."

Protesters calling for the disclosure of information about the conversation between Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and then-Dutch prime minister Mark Rutte on the morning of October 7 gathered outside the Dutch Embassy in Ramat Gan on Friday, N12 News reported.

On October 7, 2023, Netanyahu first addressed the Israeli public at 11 a.m., four and a half hours after Hamas's attack began, from the Kirya military headquarters in central Israel.

Before he ever spoke to Israel, the prime minister scheduled a meeting with Rutte, his daily diary records show.

Released in April 2024 after a request from the Hatzlaha foundation to the Freedom of Information Unit, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's 2023 schedule showed he spoke with Rutte at 10:30 a.m., before his first address to the nation.

The protesters are calling for the Prime Minister's Office (PMO) to reveal what the two discussed during their call.

PMO: Rutte expressed 'full support for Israel's right to defend itself'

A statement from the Foreign Ministry on October 7 said that Netanyahu had spoken with both Rutte and French President Emanuel Macron earlier in the day, adding that "both leaders expressed full support for Israel's right to defend itself."

Transcripts from Netanyahu and Rutte's in-person meeting, two weeks after October 7, were released by the PMO the same day, but the content of their discussion in the first few hours of the massacre remains a secret.

Demonstrators outside the Dutch Embassy in Ramat Gan appear to believe that the contents of that discussion between Netanyahu and Rutte could provide valuable insight into government failings on October 7.