July 29 (UPI) — The Dutch government expelled two high-ranking Israeli officials over the current state of affairs in Gaza and allegations of meddling by Israel in attempts to influence society in the Netherlands.
Israel’s National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir and Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich were tagged as “undesirable aliens” in the country’s Schengen information system and barred from the country over the “unbearable and indefensible” situation in the Gaza Strip, according to a letter on Monday to parliament by Dutch Foreign Minister Caspar Veldkamp.
It would would prohibit their entry from 25 out of the 27 EU bloc nations.
“The decision is based on their repeated incitement of settler violence against Palestinians, calls for illegal settlement expansion and advocacy for ethnic cleansing in Gaza,” Veldkamp wrote.
Veldkamp’s letter further stated the Netherlands will commit more than $5 million in humanitarian aid to Gaza spread out between the Red Cross and the U.N.’s Office for Support Services.
In addition, it hinted at restrictions on weaponry exports, saying it’s “virtually impossible” for future export licenses under current conditions to be approved by the government.
The acts followed Monday’s emergency meeting in the Hague with caretaker Prime Minister Dick Schoof’s government, including Veldkamp and Defense Minister Ruben Brekelmans.
It arrived after growing international and internal pressure as the European Union looks to review its Israeli aid agreement on Tuesday.
On Monday, Schoof said the Netherlands will push for “further European measures, for example, in the realm of trade,” which stirred Israeli President Isaac Herzog to reply on X that it would be a “HUGE mistake if the EU takes such steps” and accused the western European nation of ignoring the remaining Israeli hostages held by Hamas.
According to Gaza’s Hamas-run Health Ministry, nearly 60,000 people as of July 28 have been killed. It included over 17,000 children and over 145,000 injured by IDF strikes.
Independent verification of these figures has been made nearly impossible with Israel’s attempts to stifle international journalists from entering the war-torn territory.
It signals growing frustration in Europe as patience thins with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s government.
This month, the Netherlands’ counterterrorism agency designated Israel as a foreign security threat alongside Russia, Turkey and Iran, citing allegations of attempts to influence Dutch society via political or other means after the Israeli government took what the Hague called an “unusual” and “undesirable” step.
Israel’s Ministry of Diaspora Affairs and Combating Antisemitism directly issued a report to selected Dutch journalists and politicians and bypassed government officials stemming from November 2024’s football match pitting Israel’s Maccabi Tel Aviv and the Amsterdam-based Ajax teams, which led to public unrest.
It arrived after nearly 30 nations last week, including Britain, Canada, France, Italy and Australia, called for Iran’s terror syndicate to release the remaining Israeli hostages, saying the growing humanitarian crisis in Gaza had “reached new depths” and “must end now.”
“In a place where terrorism is tolerated and terrorists are welcomed, a Jewish minister from Israel is unwanted, terrorists are free, and Jews are boycotted,” Ben-Gvir, Israel’s right-wing national security chief, said Tuesday on X.
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