Netherlands bars two hardline Israeli ministers

TDT | Amsterdam

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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 BenGvir.

“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”.