THE HAGUE: The Netherlands will ban two far-right Israeli ministers from entering the country, in the latest European response to the rapidly deteriorating situation in Gaza, the country’s foreign minister said.
The ban and other measures were announced in a letter Foreign Minister Caspar Veldkamp sent to lawmakers late Monday evening, declaring “The war in Gaza must stop.”
The ban targets hardline National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir and Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich, key partners in Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s coalition.
The pair are champions of the Israeli settlement movement who support continuing the war in Gaza, facilitating what they call the voluntary emigration of its Palestinian population and the building of Jewish settlements there.
Britain, Australia, Canada, New Zealand and Norway imposed financial sanctions on the two men last month.
Later on Tuesday, leaders will meet in Brussels to discuss a European Union response, including evaluating a trade agreement between the bloc and Israel. The Netherlands wants part of that agreement to be suspended.
Ben-Gvir and Smotrich remained defiant. In a statement on social media, Smotrich said European leaders were surrendering to “the lies of radical Islam” and that Jews may not be able to live safely in Europe in the future.
Ben-Gvir said he will “continue to act” and said that in Europe “a Jewish minister from Israel is unwanted, terrorists are free, and Jews are boycotted.”
Pressure has been mounting on the Dutch government, which is gearing up for elections in October, to change course on Israeli policy. Last week, thousands demonstrated at train stations across the country, carrying pots and pans to signify the food shortage in Gaza.
The government will also summon the Israeli ambassador to the Netherlands to urge Netanyahu to change course and “immediately take measures that lead to a substantial and rapid improvement in the humanitarian situation throughout the Gaza Strip,” Veldkamp wrote.
After international pressure, Israel over the weekend announced humanitarian pauses, airdrops and other measures meant to allow more aid to Palestinians in Gaza. But people there say little or nothing has changed on the ground. The UN has described it as a one-week scale-up of aid, and Israel has not said how long these latest measures would last.
Israel asserts that Hamas is the reason aid isn’t reaching Palestinians in Gaza and accuses its militants of siphoning off aid to support its rule in the territory. The UN denies that looting of aid is systematic and says it lessens or ends entirely when enough aid is allowed to enter Gaza.
Netanyahu and his former defense minister, Yoav Gallant, are currently wanted by the International Criminal Court for crimes against humanity. The men are accused of using “starvation as a method of warfare” by restricting humanitarian aid, and of intentionally targeting civilians in Israel’s campaign against Hamas in Gaza. Member states of the ICC are obliged to arrest the men if they arrive on their territory.
