By Charles Maduka
Israel’s Foreign Minister, Gideon Saar, has announced plans to withdraw the diplomatic accreditation of Dutch officials stationed in the occupied West Bank following the Netherlands’ enforcement of sanctions on goods from Israeli settlements.
Saar disclosed the decision on Sunday in a post on his official X account, saying the affected diplomats had seven days to return the diplomatic documents issued to them by Israel.
He added that once the seven-day period elapsed, the diplomatic privileges and immunities provided to the officials by the Israeli government would no longer be valid.
According to Saar, the decision followed the Dutch government’s implementation of a ban on products brought in from Israeli settlements in the Golan Heights, the West Bank and east Jerusalem.
Israel captured the territories during the 1967 Arab-Israeli war and has maintained control over them since then. Settlements established in the areas are regarded as illegal under international law.
Dutch authorities announced earlier this month that enforcement of the settlement-goods ban would begin on September 22, covering both commercial consignments and goods carried in passengers’ luggage.
Reports from Dutch and Israeli media in recent days said travellers arriving from Israel at Amsterdam’s Schiphol airport had their luggage inspected for items covered by the ban.
The US ambassador to Israel, Mike Huckabee, who has expressed strong support for Israeli settlers, also commented on the development in an X post.
“There were some people from the Netherlands in our church this morning who are flying back tomorrow and have to check their souvenirs to make sure they aren’t from Judea/Samaria-possible 6 yr prison term,” he wrote.
Judea and Samaria is the biblical designation for the West Bank and remains a name used by the Israeli government when referring to the territory.
The Dutch restrictions came after 12 Western countries, including Britain and France, jointly announced sanctions on products from Israeli settlements earlier in the month.
About 500,000 Israeli settlers are estimated to live in the West Bank, excluding east Jerusalem, alongside a Palestinian population of about three million.
The Israeli settlements are located in territory captured during the 1967 war.
AFP
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