The government of the Netherlands vetoed the entry of two ministers of Israel – finance, Bezalel Smotrich, and national security, Itamar Ben Gvir – arguing that the two incite the “ethnic cleaning” in the Gaza Strip.
The Dutch authorities also reported that the Israeli ambassador will be summoned on Tuesday, given the “intolerable and indefensible” humanitarian situation at the Palestinian enclave.
In a letter sent at dawn on Tuesday to Parliament, Dutch Foreign Minister Caspar Veldkamp said that “the humanitarian blockade” by Israel submits the population of Gaza to “extreme and continuous deprivation” and generated “unbearable living conditions”, which “forces” the Netherlands to announce pressure measures.
“The government has decided to declare Smotrich and Ben-Gvir as’ Personas Non Gratas’ and register them as undesirable foreigners in Schengen’s SIS System. This is for their continuous incitement to settlers’ violence, their defense of illegal settlements and their calls for ethnic cleaning in Gaza,” said Veldkamp.
The minister has announced that he will call the Israeli ambassador to inform him of government decisions and to “insist that Israel must change course” and remember his obligations according to international humanitarian law.
The Dutch government also said, since October 2023, at least 11 requests for permission to export military material and double -use goods, and warned that, in the current situation, it is “virtually impossible to grant licenses to export weapons that can be used by the Israeli army” in Gaza or the West Bank.
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In the European level, the Netherlands defends the suspension of the commercial part of the Association Agreement with Israel if the European Commission concludes that Israel is not complying with humanitarian commitments, and will press Brussels to propose trade measures against the importation of settlements.
In addition, the Netherlands argued that the “current strategy” of the government of Benjamin Netanyahu “does not contribute to releasing the hostages, nor to deliver the necessary humanitarian aid in Gaza, nor to achieve lasting stability to the Israeli.”
“The deaths and chaos at the distribution points managed by the Humanitarian Foundation for Gaza (GHF) are unacceptable. GHF’s help and activities do not fit the humanitarian principles of humanity, impartiality, independence and neutrality, lead to forced displacement and generate deadly situations,” Veldkamp said.
Ministers classify measure as “boycott”
Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich said in his account on social network X after his veto in the Netherlands: “Much more than my entry into the Netherlands, it matters to me that my children, grandchildren and great -grandchildren, and those of all Jews in the world, can live in Israel state for decades and centuries.”
In turn, National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir reacted to his entry for inciting “ethnic cleaning” in Gaza, noting that even if they “forbid him to enter all over Europe”, he will continue to act “for good” from Israel.
“I will demand that we crush Hamas and support our combatants,” he reiterated in his X account.
