The Netherlands has banned Israeli Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich and National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir from entering the country because of their role in what it called the “intolerable and unjustifiable” situation in Gaza.
In a letter to parliament on Monday, Dutch Foreign Minister Kaspar Veldkamp announced that the two ministers would be classified as “undesirable in the Schengen system,” meaning they would effectively be banned from entering the Netherlands.
The minister also wrote that “the decision is based on the repeated incitement of settler violence against Palestinians, calls for illegal settlement expansion and support for ethnic cleansing in Gaza.”
Following a meeting between Prime Minister Dick Shof and government officials, as Politico reports, it was also decided to increase humanitarian aid to the Gaza Strip as well as to press for EU-level measures against Israel, especially on trade.
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