‘Israel’ recalls ambassador to Netherlands after criticizing Smotrich and Ben-Gvir

‘Israel’ has recalled its ambassador to the Netherlands after he publicly criticized two far-right cabinet ministers and condemned violence by extremist settlers in the West Bank.

Ambassador Zvi Aviner Vapni was summoned back for a clarification meeting following an interview published days earlier in the Dutch newspaper Algemeen Dagblad.

In the interview, titled in part around tough questions for the envoy, Vapni declined to defend Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich and National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir.

When asked whether the ministers counted among the extremists ‘Israel’ would rather not have, he replied: “Absolutely. They have said things that I find terrible and unacceptable. I feel no need whatsoever to defend them.”

He also addressed rising settler attacks on Palestinians.

Vapni said: “These are Jewish hooligans and terrorists, and they should all go to prison. I think 80% of Israelis agree with that. This violence must stop. I don’t want to defend it. What they are doing is despicable.”

Vapni firmly defended ‘Israel’s’ assault on Gaza.

“It is not genocide, not ethnic cleansing; it is a brutal war against a brutal terrorist organization,” he said.

The episode occurs against a backdrop of already strained Dutch-‘Israeli’ relations.

The Netherlands previously declared Smotrich and Ben-Gvir persona non grata and barred their entry, citing their statements encouraging settler violence, settlement expansion, and rhetoric on Gaza.

Dutch officials have also summoned Vapni more than once over ‘Israel’s’ conduct in Gaza and the West Bank, including after the interception of a flotilla and measures affecting Dutch diplomats in Ramallah.