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Israel has moved to strip Dutch diplomats serving in Ramallah of their diplomatic privileges, ordering them to return their Israeli-issued credentials within seven days, after the Netherlands imposed a ban on goods from Israeli settlements.
Foreign minister Gideon Sa’ar announced the decision yesterday, accusing the Dutch government of taking hostile unilateral action against Israel.
"Following the entry into force last week of an order banning the import and sale of products from Judea and Samaria [the West Bank], East Jerusalem and the Golan Heights, we informed the Dutch Embassy in Israel this evening that Dutch diplomats operating in Ramallah must return their Israeli-issued diplomatic documentation within seven days," he wrote on X.
"After this period, the diplomatic privileges and immunities granted to them by the State of Israel will expire.
“If the Netherlands wishes to continue representing its interests with the Palestinians, it may do so from Palestinian Authority territory, rather than from the territory of the State of Israel,” Sa’ar added.
He also accused the Dutch government’s policies of contributing to antisemitism in the Netherlands.
The decision comes after the Netherlands last week introduced a ban on the import, purchase and sale of goods originating in Israeli settlements in the West Bank, East Jerusalem and the Golan Heights.
The measure also prohibits intermediary services facilitating such trade and attempts to circumvent the restrictions.
Passengers on a recent El Al flight from Tel Aviv to Amsterdam said Dutch customs officers searched their luggage for products originating in Israeli settlements in the West Bank and the Golan Heights.
The Dutch government said the ban was intended to fulfil its international legal obligations and would not affect trade with Israel within its internationally recognised borders. The measure applies specifically to goods from settlements, rather than all Israeli products.
The diplomatic dispute comes after Dutch officials were barred last month from the International Gaza Support Centre – a hub that co-ordinates humanitarian aid and monitors developments on the ground – in Kiryat Gat following the Netherlands’ announcement that it intended to restrict settlements trade.
The Netherlands’ decision came amid wider European and British efforts to increase pressure on Israel over settlement expansion and the situation in the Palestinian territories.
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