Israel revokes Dutch diplomats’ status over West Bank settlement trade ban
publishers 21articles 26first reported 27 Sep, 19:07 UTCdeveloping since 28 Sep · 2 editions
Israel said Sunday it would revoke the diplomatic status of Dutch officials working at the Netherlands’ representative office to the Palestinian Authority in Ramallah, in retaliation for a Dutch ban on trade involving goods and services from Israeli settlements in the occupied West Bank.
Foreign Minister Gideon Saar ordered the diplomats to surrender their Israeli-issued diplomatic documentation within seven days. Their privileges and immunities granted by Israel will expire after that period, he said.
The Netherlands began enforcing the ban on September 22. According to Deutsche Welle, it applies to commercial shipments and personal baggage. Dutch and Israeli media have reported that passengers arriving from Israel were searched at Amsterdam’s Schiphol Airport for prohibited goods.
“If the Netherlands wishes to continue representing its interests with the Palestinians, it may do so from Palestinian Authority territory, rather than from the territory of the State of Israel,” Saar wrote on social media. The Dutch Foreign Ministry had not commented, Deutsche Welle reported.
The measure follows earlier Israeli action barring Dutch representatives from a US-led Gaza coordination center in Israel. Israel has also announced measures against the United Kingdom after London imposed similar restrictions on settlement goods, including plans to close the British Consulate in East Jerusalem. France and Canada have also announced bans on settlement goods, but Deutsche Welle reported that Israel had not taken action against them.
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Written from 8 articles, 3 with the publisher's own text; 8 independent newsrooms once syndicated copies count as one; this version written 12 h after the record first saw the story; the editor kept it as written.
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