The Netherlands has become the seventh country to bar far-right Israeli Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich and National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir from entering the country, labelling them persona non grata for their calls of “ethnic cleansing” in Gaza, according to Dutch media reports.

In response to a parliamentary inquiry, Dutch Foreign Minister Caspar Veldkamp justified the ban on late Monday, saying the two Israeli ministers have “repeatedly incited violence against the Palestinian population, persistently advocated for the expansion of illegal settlements and called for ethnic cleansing in the Gaza Strip.”

The Dutch government also said in the letter published on Monday that it will summon Israel’s ambassador to denounce the “unbearable and indefensible” situation in Gaza.

Related TRT Global – Netherlands lists Israel as a threat to its national security for the first time

Dutch Prime Minister Dick Schoof said his government was “considering taking national measures” against Israel and is prepared to support suspending its participation in the EU’s Horizon research programme if Brussels determines that Israel is obstructing humanitarian aid access to Gaza.

In provocative statements, Ben-Gvir has demanded a “full siege,” blocking aid and declared “there are no uninvolved civilians in Gaza.” Smotrich has called for the reoccupation of Gaza and reducing its Palestinian population, saying Israel should “stop being afraid of the word occupation.”

Their rhetoric has been widely condemned as incitement to violence and genocide.

In total, seven countries have so far banned Smotrich and Ben-Gvir from entering their territories, citing their roles in inciting violence against Palestinians and promoting illegal Jewish settlement expansion in the Israeli-occupied West Bank.

The Netherlands and Slovenia are the only two EU member states to do so. In addition, the United Kingdom, Canada, Australia, New Zealand and Norway have banned entry for both the Israeli ministers.

Israel has imposed a blockade on Gaza for 18 years. But since March, it has shut down all crossings, blocking the entry of most aid convoys as its military bombs and kills the Palestinians.

According to Gaza’s Health Ministry, at least 147 people have died of starvation since October 2023, including 88 children.

Related TRT Global – Israel’s ‘suffocating’ blockade puts over 40,000 Gaza infants in cradle of death

Israel has killed nearly 60,000 Palestinians, most of them women and children, in Gaza since October 2023.

Last November, the International Criminal Court issued arrest warrants for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his former Defence Minister Yoav Gallant for war crimes and crimes against humanity in Gaza.

Israel also faces a genocide case at the International Court of Justice for its war on the besieged Palestinian enclave.

AMSTERDAM (Reuters) -The Dutch government will summon Israel’s ambassador to the Netherlands to denounce the “unbearable and indefensable” situation in Gaza and has imposed travel bans on two far-right Israeli cabinet ministers, it said in a letter published late on Monday.

Israeli government ministers Itamar Ben-Gvir and Bezalel Smotrich will no longer be allowed to enter the Netherlands, which accuses them of repeatedly inciting violence against Palestinians and calling for an “ethnic cleansing” of the Gaza strip.

The Dutch decision follows similar moves last month by Britain, Canada, Australia, New Zealand and Norway.

The government said it supported the EU’s recommendation to curb Israeli access to its flagship research funding programme and said it would press for European trade sanctions if Israel was found to be in breach of its agreement with the European Union on increasing aid supplies.

(Reporting by Bart Meijer and Stephanie van den Berg; Editing by Michael Perry)

The Dutch government is introducing a travel ban on two far-right Israeli ministers and has summoned Israel’s ambassador for talks over what it described as an “intolerable and indefensible” situation in Gaza.

In a briefing to MPs, foreign minister Caspar Veldkamp said Israel was failing to meet European commitments on humanitarian access to Gaza. Prime minister Dick Schoof had earlier warned that the Netherlands would take unilateral measures if those obligations were not respected.

One of those measures is a formal summons for the Israeli ambassador to discuss the worsening situation. The Netherlands will again urge Israel to change course and meet its obligations under international humanitarian law.

As part of its response, the cabinet is also imposing an entry ban on Israeli finance minister Bezalel Smotrich and national security minister Itamar Ben-Gvir. Both men are now designated as persona non grata in the Netherlands.

The cabinet said the two ministers have repeatedly incited violence against Palestinians, openly called for ethnic cleansing in Gaza and promoted the expansion of illegal settlements.

Veldkamp also announced tighter restrictions on Dutch arms exports to Israel. Some existing licences have been revised and, under current circumstances, new export permits will be “virtually out of the question”, he said.

The Netherlands is also increasing its humanitarian contribution to Gaza. It will donate €1.5 million to the UN’s logistics agency and provide an additional €3 million to the Red Cross, with a particular focus on delivering supplies by land.

Schoof, Veldkamp, defence minister Ruben Brekelmans and the three deputy prime ministers held emergency talks at the Catshuis on Monday, interrupting their summer recess to agree on the measures.

Schoof said after the meeting that the Netherlands would also advocate for EU-wide sanctions. So far, EU member states have been divided, but the current cooperation agreement with Israel is scheduled for review on Tuesday and further European steps could be proposed.

“If the EU decides that Israel is not in compliance… the Netherlands supports the plan to suspend Israeli participation in the EU research programme Horizon,” Schoof said on social media. “The Netherlands will also press for further European measures, for example in the realm of trade.”

Israeli president Isaac Herzog criticised the Dutch move on social media, calling them a “huge mistake”, especially in light of what he described as Israel’s ongoing efforts to improve humanitarian aid.

He also accused Schoof of misrepresenting the tone and content of their phone conversation. “This tweet does not reflect the spirit and details of the call,” Herzog wrote. He also said Schoof had failed to mention the hostages still held by Hamas in Gaza.

The Netherlands to impose travel ban against Israeli ministers and summon ambassador over Gaza

The Netherlands to impose travel ban against Israeli ministers and summon ambassador over Gaza

The Dutch government is set to ban two far-right Israeli government ministers from travelling to the Netherlands in response to Israel’s human rights violations and the continually deteriorating situation in Gaza.

The measures target Israeli National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir and Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich, two key partners in Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s coalition.

The ban and other sanctions were announced in a letter Dutch Foreign Minister Caspar Veldkamp sent to lawmakers on Monday evening.

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“They have repeatedly incited violence by settlers against the Palestinian population and … called for ethnic cleansing in the Gaza Strip,” the letter read, as reported by local media.

The Dutch government will also summon Israel’s ambassador to urge Netanyahu to “immediately take measures that lead to a substantial and rapid improvement in the humanitarian situation throughout the Gaza Strip,” the letter revealed.

Ben-Gvir and Smotrich are supportive of the Israeli settlement movement and are in favour of continuing the Israel-Hamas war in Gaza, facilitating what they call “voluntary emigration” of Palestinians, and building Jewish settlements instead.

Both were defiant of the announcement. Ben-Gvir said he would “continue to act,” and Smotrich claimed European leaders are submitting to the “lies of radical Islam”.

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Earlier this month, Slovenia banned Ben-Gvir and Smotrich from entering the country in response to a lack of joint action taken in Brussels by EU foreign ministers against Israel.

Similar moves were made last month by the UK, Australia, Canada, New Zealand and Norway, who imposed financial sanctions on the two men.

The Dutch government, which is gearing up for elections in October, has faced mounting pressure for it to change its stance on Israeli policy.

The Netherlands has declared Israel’s finance and national security ministers persona non grata for inciting violence and urging ethnic cleansing in Gaza.

In June, the Netherlands backed a failed Swedish proposal to impose EU sanctions on Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich and National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir.

“They repeatedly incited settler violence against Palestinians, promoted illegal settlement expansion, and called for ethnic cleansing in Gaza,” Dutch Foreign Minister Caspar Veldkamp told parliament in a letter released late Monday.

Smotrich responded on X, saying European leaders had succumbed to “the lies of radical Islam that is taking over” and “rising antisemitism”.

Ben-Gvir said he would continue to act for Israel, even if he was banned from entering “all of Europe”.

“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,” he wrote on X.

Veldkamp said the Netherlands wanted to “relieve the suffering of the population in Gaza” and was exploring further ways to contribute to humanitarian aid.

“Airdrops of food are relatively expensive and risky,” he said.

“This is why the Netherlands is also taking steps to further support land-based aid delivery.”

Aid drops resumed in Gaza on Sunday as Israel announced temporary humanitarian pauses in parts of the besieged territory.

Around 2.4 million Palestinians in Gaza are facing what UN aid agencies have warned is a deadly wave of starvation and malnutrition.

The UN-backed Integrated Food Security Phase Classification Initiative (IPC) said on Tuesday that famine is unfolding across much of Gaza, with thresholds breached and over 20,000 children treated for acute malnutrition since April.

Veldkamp said the Netherlands would push to suspend the trade element of the EU-Israel Association Agreement if Israel fails to meet its humanitarian obligations.

“The summons will also be used to remind Israel to comply with its obligations under international humanitarian law,” he said.

After speaking by phone with Israeli President Isaac Herzog, Dutch Prime Minister Dick Schoof said the government’s position was “crystal clear”.

“The people of Gaza must be given immediate, unfettered, safe access to humanitarian aid,” he said.

The war in Gaza was sparked by Hamas’s October 7, 2023 attack on Israel, which resulted in the deaths of 1,219 people, most of them civilians, according to an AFP tally based on official figures.

Israel’s retaliatory campaign has killed 59,921 Palestinians, also mostly civilians, according to the health ministry in the Hamas-run territory.