Dutch police break up climate protest on highway ahead of NATO summit
Dutch police on Monday broke up a climate protest on a highway near The Hague and made several arrests ahead of the annual NATO summit.
Dozens of climate activists attempted to block the A44 highway near Lisse, around 30 kilometres from the Hague, urging leaders to prioritise environmental issues and accelerate peacebuilding efforts.
'There is a meeting going on in the next few days from NATO where they talk about the security of the world, security of the West, but the climate crisis is not on the agenda," said one demonstrator.
'We think it is important that it comes on the agenda because it is an even larger threat from Russia," they added.
Over the weekend, hundreds of protesters took to the streets of the city to show their discontent with NATO's defence spending and the threat of war with Iran.
More demonstrations are set to take place in The Hague on Tuesday and Wednesday as NATO leaders such as US President Donald Trump arrive for the summit. It will be protected by the biggest ever Dutch security operation, code-named "Orange Shield".
US allies have ramped up defence spending since Russian President Vladimir Putin ordered a full-scale invasion of Ukraine more than three years ago, but almost a third of them still don't meet NATO's current target of at least 2% of their gross domestic product.
The heads of government want to hammer out an agreement on a hike in defence spending demanded by Trump, which would raise the spending to 5% of GDP.
The new target will see allies finance a five-fold increase in air defence capabilities, the purchase of "thousands" more tanks and armoured vehicles and "millions of rounds" of artillery ammunition, NATO's chief Mark Rutte said on Monday on the eve of the summit.
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