The Netherlands plans to recognise a Palestinian state “at a later stage”, caretaker foreign affairs minister David van Weel has said, but would not commit to a specific timetable. Van Weel told a United Nations conference in New York that the Netherlands intended to recognise a Palestinian state “as part of a political process that has yet to begin”. “We need to end the constant violence that Palestinians and Israelis have suffered for so long,” Van Weel said. Parliament last month voted against a motion to recognise a Palestinian state. Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who is due to address the UN on Friday, has vowed a Palestinian state “will not happen”.