The Dutch government announced plans to summon the Israeli Ambassador to the Netherlands to condemn what it described as the “unbearable and indefensible” situation in Gaza and has also imposed travel bans on two far-right Israeli cabinet ministers, according to Reuters.
Accusations of “Ethnic Cleansing”
The government has accused both Itamar Ben-Gvir and Bezalel Smotrich of repeatedly inciting violence against Palestinians and urging for an “ethnic cleansing” of the Gaza strip.
Therefore, the Netherlands has imposed travel bans on both ministers and they will no longer be allowed to enter the country.
The government also supported the European Union’s recommendation to curb Israeli access to its flagship research funding program.
Meanwhile, it would urge for imposing European trade sanctions if Israel was found to be violating its agreement with the EU on increasing aid supplies.
Decisive European Moves
This move follows similar decisions last month by several countries, including Britain, Canada, Australia, New Zealand and Norway.
Moreover, Slovenia declared both Israeli ministers persona non grata two weeks ago.
The Slovenian government has accused both ministers of making “genocidal statements” and inciting violence against Palestinians.
“Today, the government adopted one of the first national measures, which is to declare two Israeli ministers… unwanted in the Republic of Slovenia,” Slovenian Foreign Minister Tanja Fajon said in a news conference.
Slovenia’s government issued a statement saying both Ben-Gvir and Smotrich “publicly advocate the expansion of illegal Israeli settlements in the West Bank, the forced evictions of Palestinians, and call for violence against the civilian Palestinian population”.
Gaza’s Humanitarian Crisis
This international pressure on Israel comes at a crucial time as violence against Palestinians in the West Bank is growing with increasing number of killings and attacks by settlers and security forces.
At the same time, the starvation crisis in Gaza is worsening with dozens of Gazans including children dying due to malnutrition throughout the 21 months of war, according to the Gaza Health Ministry.
Since the beginning of Hamas-Israel War in Gaza in 2023, the Israeli strikes have killed more than 59,000 Palestinians and wounded over 142,000, according to Gaza’s Health Ministry.
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