THE HAGUE: Dutch Prime Minister Dick Schoof's right-wing government averted a crisis on Friday when a junior minister resigned over alleged racist comments by cabinet colleagues, but the coalition government will remain in place.

Deputy Finance Minister Nora Achahbar handed in her resignation on Friday as the Netherlands grapples with the political fallout of last week's attacks on Israeli football fans.

Her departure prompted speculation that other members of the NSC party, a junior partner in the four-party Dutch coalition government, would follow suit.

"Nora Achahbar has decided not to continue as deputy minister," the prime minister said.

"But as the cabinet, we decided to continue together," Schoof said after a five-hour emergency meeting with his coalition partners at his official residence here.

Achahbar, who is of Moroccan descent, decided to exit the government after a heated cabinet meeting discussing last week's violence on the streets of Amsterdam after a football match between local club Ajax and Maccabi Tel Aviv.

"The polarising interactions of the past weeks made such an impact on me that I am no longer able to effectively carry out my duties as deputy minister," Achahbar said in her resignation letter to Parliament. 

- AFP