‘Persona non grata': Netherlands bars two Israeli ministers over incitement, ‘ethnic cleansing' accusations
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.
Israel's foreign ministry said Foreign Affairs Minister Gideon Sa'ar had summoned the Dutch ambassador Marriët Schuurman to Jersualem for a formal reprimand on Tuesday afternoon.
'The conversation will take place in light of the Dutch government's decisions to take measures against Israel, including against its right to defend itself and against ministers in its government,' the ministry said in a statement.
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. — AFP
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Free Malaysia Today
34 minutes ago
- Free Malaysia Today
UN reports mounting toll among aid seekers as US envoy due in Gaza
Piles of humanitarian aid packages from GHF wait to be picked in the Gaza Strip. (AP pic) GAZA CITY : Israeli forces have killed hundreds of hungry Palestinians waiting for aid outside US-backed food distribution points, the UN's rights office said Friday, as a special envoy from Washington was due to inspect the sites. The visit by President Donald Trump's Middle East envoy Steve Witkoff also coincided with a report from global advocacy group Human Rights Watch (HRW) that accused Israeli forces of presiding over 'regular bloodbaths' around the US-backed centres, which have become magnets for criticism since their inception in late May. The UN's rights office in the Palestinian territories said at least 1,373 people had been killed seeking aid in Gaza since May 27 – 105 of them in the past two days. 'Most of these killings were committed by the Israeli military,' the office said, breaking down the death toll into 859 killed near the US-backed food sites and 514 along routes used by UN and aid agency convoys. 'These victims, the majority of whom appear to be young men and boys, are not just numbers,' the office said. 'Each person killed or injured had been desperately struggling for survival, not only for themselves but also for their families and dependants.' Gaza's civil defence agency said 11 people were killed by Israeli fire and air strikes on Friday, including two who were waiting near an aid distribution site run by the US- and Israeli-backed Gaza Humanitarian Foundation (GHF). GHF largely sidelined the longstanding UN-led humanitarian system just as Israel was beginning to ease a more than two-month aid blockade that exacerbated existing shortages of food and other essentials. 'Beyond imagination' In its report on the GHF centres on Friday, Human Rights Watch accused the Israeli military of illegally using starvation as a weapon of war. 'Israeli forces are not only deliberately starving Palestinian civilians, but they are now gunning them down almost every day as they desperately seek food for their families,' said Belkis Wille, associate crisis and conflict director at Human Rights Watch. 'US-backed Israeli forces and private contractors have put in place a flawed, militarised aid distribution system that has turned aid distributions into regular bloodbaths.' Responding to the report, the military said GHF worked independently but that Israeli soldiers operated 'in proximity to the new distribution areas in order to enable the orderly delivery of food'. It accused Hamas of trying to prevent food distribution and said that it was conducting a review of the reported deaths, adding it worked to 'minimise, as much as possible, any friction between the civilian population' and its forces. After arriving in Israel on Thursday, Witkoff held talks with prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu over how to resolve the almost 22-month-old war, feed desperate civilians and free the remaining hostages held by Palestinian militants. Netanyahu has vowed to destroy Hamas and free the captives but is under international pressure to end the bloodshed that has killed more than 60,000 Palestinians and threatened many more with famine. Following his discussions with Witkoff, Netanyahu met foreign minister Johann Wadephul of Germany, another staunch Israeli ally, who nonetheless delivered a blunt message. 'The humanitarian disaster in Gaza is beyond imagination,' Wadephul told reporters after the meeting, urging the government 'to provide humanitarian and medical aid to prevent mass starvation from becoming a reality'. 'I have the impression that this has been understood today,' he added. Hostage video On Thursday, the armed wing of the Palestinian group Islamic Jihad released a video showing German-Israeli hostage Rom Braslavski, 21, watching recent news footage of the crisis in Gaza and pleading with the Israeli government to secure his release. 'Even the strongest person has a breaking point,' his family said in a statement released by the Hostages and Missing Families Forum in Israel. 'Rom is an example of all the hostages. They must all be brought home now.' On Friday, Wadephul also met relatives of hostages still held in the Gaza Strip. According to the German foreign office, among the 49 hostages still held, a 'single-digit' number are German-Israeli dual nationals 'Germany continues to do everything in our power to achieve the release of the hostages,' Wadephul said, expressing outrage at the video release. This 'horrible' footage reveals 'once again the utter depravity of the kidnappers', he said. The Hamas-led Oct 2023 attack resulted in the deaths of 1,219 people, mostly civilians, according to a tally based on official figures. Of the 251 people seized, 49 are still held in Gaza, including 27 declared dead by the Israeli military. The Israeli offensive, nearing its 23rd month, has killed at least 60,249 Palestinians, most of them civilians, according to Hamas-run Gaza's health ministry. This week UN aid agencies said deaths from starvation had begun. Media restrictions in Gaza and difficulties accessing many areas mean AFP cannot independently verify tolls and details provided by the civil defence and other parties.
Free Malaysia Today
34 minutes ago
- Free Malaysia Today
France starts airdrops of humanitarian aid into Gaza
Humanitarian aid is airdropped to Palestinians over Khan Younis, in the Gaza Strip. (AP pic) PARIS : France on Friday started to airdrop 40 tonnes of humanitarian aid to Gaza as it urged Israel to allow full access to the area, which it said was slipping into famine. 'Faced with the absolute urgency, we have just conducted a food airdrop operation in Gaza. Thank you to our Jordanian, Emirati, and German partners for their support, and to our military personnel for their commitment,' French President Emmanuel Macron wrote on social media platform X. 'Airdrops are not enough. Israel must open full humanitarian access to address the risk of famine,' he added. Foreign minister Jean-Noel Barrot earlier in the day had told broadcaster franceinfo that France was sending four flights carrying 10 tonnes of humanitarian aid each to Gaza from Jordan. A global hunger monitor said on Tuesday that a famine scenario was unfolding in the Gaza Strip, with malnutrition soaring, children under five dying of hunger-related causes and humanitarian access severely restricted. France participated six times in the European humanitarian airlift set up in mid-Oct 2023 by the EU to Jordan and Egypt to deliver humanitarian aid to Gaza, Macron's office said. The European airlift enabled the organisation of more than 60 flights carrying over 3,350 tonnes of humanitarian cargo, with most of the donations in-kind transiting through Egypt and Jordan, according to Macron's office. Part of this aid has still not entered Gaza due to a lack of agreement from the Israeli authorities, the president's office said.
Free Malaysia Today
35 minutes ago
- Free Malaysia Today
Russian drone strikes on Ukraine hit all-time record in July
Municipal workers clean up after Russian drones hit shops during a night attack in Odesa, Ukraine. (AP pic) KYIV : Russia fired more drones at Ukraine in July than in any month since it launched its 2022 invasion, intensifying its deadly bombardment of the country as peace talks stalled, an AFP analysis showed Friday. The analysis, which used data published by Ukraine's air force, showed Russia fired 6,297 long-range drones into Ukraine last month – up nearly 16% compared with June and the third straight monthly increase. Russia also fired 198 missiles into Ukraine in July, more than in any month this year except in June, according to the data. The attacks, which trigger air raid sirens and send civilians scrambling for shelter, took place on every night of the month. The Kremlin has consistently rejected a ceasefire in Ukraine, saying in July it saw no immediate diplomatic way out of its nearly three-and-a-half-year invasion. Three rounds of direct negotiation between Moscow and Kyiv since May have failed to yield a peace deal. Russia's escalation of drone and missile attacks on Ukraine led to a three-year high in the number of civilians killed or wounded in June, the UN said last month. A combined drone and missile strike on the Ukrainian capital Kyiv early Thursday killed at least 31 people, 28 of whom were in a nine-storey apartment block partially reduced to rubble by a missile, authorities said. Five of the dead were children, rescue service spokesperson Pavlo Petrov said. US President Donald Trump, who has become increasingly frustrated with the Kremlin's refusal to accept a ceasefire, has given Moscow until next Friday to reach a deal or face sweeping sanctions. Russia has ramped up its drone production to an industrial scale since the war began. Ukraine has sought to roll out new air defences in response, tasking manufacturers with producing thousands of cheap interceptor drones to destroy their Russian counterparts.
