Israel strips Dutch West Bank diplomats of accreditation after settlement trade sanctions
Israel’s foreign minister said the diplomatic accreditation of Dutch officials in the occupied West Bank will be revoked after the Netherlands began enforcing a ban on goods from Israeli settlements. The officials were given seven days to return their Israeli-issued diplomatic papers. The Dutch measure covers items from settlements in the West Bank, east Jerusalem and the Golan Heights, which are considered illegal under international law.
Dutch authorities started applying their settlement-goods prohibition on 22 September. It covers commercial cargo and travellers’ personal belongings, and reports said luggage arriving at Schiphol from Israel was inspected. The Dutch step came after twelve Western nations, among them Britain and France, took coordinated measures against settlement products earlier in the month.
Israel took the territories in 1967 and has held them under occupation since; international law treats settlement building there as illegal. Roughly half a million settlers live in the West Bank outside east Jerusalem, alongside about three million Palestinians. Israel’s foreign minister, Gideon Saar, announced the credential withdrawal and gave the Dutch officials seven days to return their papers.
The revocation may complicate Dutch diplomatic work in the West Bank and could affect consular or humanitarian contacts involving Palestinians and Israelis. Dutch travellers and importers may face more scrutiny over goods linked to settlements, while Israeli authorities could tighten treatment of foreign missions. The dispute may also strain Netherlands-Israel relations and add to broader international debate over settlement trade, though practical effects remain uncertain.