Netherlands regrets ‘Israel’ decision to withdraw diplomat accreditation

• Dutch Foreign Minister Tom Berendsen said the Netherlands “deeply” regrets the decision to withdraw accreditation from its diplomats working in the occupied West Bank.
• ‘Israel’ ordered the Dutch diplomats in Ramallah to return their diplomatic documents within seven days in response to Dutch measures targeting settlement products.
• The Netherlands began restricting the import, purchase and sale of goods from ‘Israeli’ settlements in the occupied Palestinian territories on Sep. 22. 

Dutch Foreign Minister Tom Berendsen said on Monday that the Netherlands deeply regretted ‘Israel’s’ decision to withdraw accreditation from its diplomats working in the occupied West Bank.

A spokesperson for Berendsen said he considered the move unnecessary, adding that the Dutch decision to suspend imports of goods from ‘Israeli’ settlements in the occupied West Bank was not directed at ‘Israel’.

‘Israeli’ Foreign Minister Gideon Saar announced on Sunday that the accreditation of Dutch diplomats in Ramallah would be withdrawn within seven days in response to Dutch measures concerning settlement products.

Under the decision, the diplomats must return diplomatic documents issued by ‘Israel’, after which their diplomatic privileges and immunities will end. 

The Dutch measures took effect on Sep. 22, when the Netherlands began banning the import, purchase and sale of goods from ‘Israeli’ settlements in the occupied Palestinian territories. The government also introduced customs procedures to verify the origin of the products.

Dutch authorities said the measures did not change trade relations with ‘Israel’ within the 1967 borders.

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