Tel Aviv [Israel], July 29 : Israel Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich accused the Netherlands government of surrendering "to the lies of radical Islam" following the announcement that both he and National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir will be banned from entering the country, as part of a raft of measures to pressure Israel over the humanitarian crisis in Gaza, The Times of Israel reported.
Israel's Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich and National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir have been banned from entering the Netherlands due to their alleged roles in inciting violence against Palestinians and promoting settlement expansion in the West Bank.
Explaining the ban, the Netherlands' Foreign Minister Caspar Valdekamp reportedly wrote to local lawmakers that it was motivated by the fact that the two far-right Israeli politicians had "repeatedly incited violence by settlers against the Palestinian population and... called for ethnic cleansing in the Gaza Strip," as per The Times of Israel.
The ban is part of a broader set of measures by the Dutch government to pressure Israel over the humanitarian crisis in Gaza.
"What they don't understand in the Netherlands and other European countries is that far more than it matters to me to enter the Netherlands, it matters to me that my children, grandchildren and great-grandchildren, and those of all the Jews in the world, can live in the State of Israel in security for decades and centuries to come," Smotrich said in a post on X.
https://x.com/bezalelsm/status/1950072402538303613
"In the Netherlands and Europe in general, Jews did not live in security at the beginning of the last century, and judging by the European hypocrisy, the surrender of its leaders to the lies of radical Islam, which is taking over, and the rising antisemitism there Jews will not be able to live there in security in the future either," he continues, adding that he will work for Israel's future and security "even if it means standing firm against the entire world."
https://x.com/itamarbengvir/status/1950053076590596250
Responding to the ban against him, Ben Gvir wrote on X: "Even if I'm banned from all of Europe, I'll keep working for our country and demanding that we topple Hamas and back our fighters. Our enemies are violent, murderous rapists. But in Europe... the one who goes on the offensive is guilty. In a place where terrorism is tolerated and terrorists are welcome, a Jewish minister from Israel is unwelcome. Terrorists are free and Jews are boycotted."
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