The Dutch government has declared Israeli National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir and Israeli Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich persona non grata, banning them from entering the kingdom.
This was reported by the NOS television channel, citing a letter from Dutch Foreign Minister Kaspar Veldkamp to parliament.
The document states that Smotrich and Ben-Gvir “have repeatedly contributed to inciting violence against the Palestinian population“, constantly advocating the expansion of Jewish settlements in the West Bank and calling for “ethnic cleansing in the Gaza Strip“. It is specified that the Netherlands intends to add both ministers to the Schengen Information System database as “foreign nationals whose entry into the Schengen area is undesirable“.
In addition, the Israeli ambassador will be summoned to the Dutch Foreign Ministry to “remind the authorities of the Jewish state of the need to comply with international humanitarian law“ and to call on them to change their course regarding the Gaza Strip.
On May 18, the Israeli army announced the start of military operations in the northern and southern areas of the Gaza Strip as part of a large-scale ground operation called “Gideon's Chariots“. Its stated goal is the final defeat of Hamas and the release of all Israeli hostages held in the enclave. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said that after the operation, the army plans to take control of the entire Gaza Strip.