The Dutch Foreign Minister has today called on the Israeli ambassador to The Hague to ask for explanations on the expulsion of several diplomats from the Dutch representation in Ramallah in the occupied West Bank.
© Ahmad Gharabli/AFP via Getty Images
28/09/2026
by
Lusa
O minister Tom Berendsen announced the call of the Israeli diplomat a press conference in The Hague with the German counterpart, Johann Wadephul, saying he wants to know “the details of the measure” and discuss the “consequences” of it.
The head of Dutch diplomacy classified the Israeli decision as “unnecessary” and stated that the Netherlands “deeply regret” the withdrawal of status to its diplomats, although, for the moment, it is not known how many members of the mission will be affected.
The Israeli ambassador will attend the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in The Hague on Tuesday.
In addition to withdrawing diplomatic status from members of the Dutch representation in Ramallah, the Israeli authorities demanded that they leave the territory within seven days.
Israel justified the measure as a response to the recent decisions of the Netherlands, especially the ban on importing products from illegal Israeli settlements into the occupied territories, as it came into force last week.
Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Saar accused the Hague Government of maintaining a “hostile position” in relation to Israel.
Berendsen rejected the idea that the trade ban should be “directed against Israel” and argued that it responds to the “obligation under international law not to contribute to an illicit situation: illegal settlements”.
The Dutch government maintains that Israeli settlements and their expansion in the occupied West Bank violate international law in line with the advisory opinion issued by the International Court of Justice (IJC) in July 2024 on the Israeli presence in the occupied Palestinian territories, and advocates a two-state solution.
Israel had recently removed two Dutch representatives from the international coordination centre for Gaza, after also linking this decision to the measures taken by the Hague government against settlements.
Berendsen called on the Israeli ambassador in May because of the treatment the Dutch Government considered “inhuman” in relation to the members of a flotilla of activists headed for Gaza and intercepted by Israel.