Netherlands threatens Israel sanctions over Gaza, but faces legal hurdles
The Netherlands has announced plans to impose unprecedented sanctions against Israel over the deteriorating humanitarian crisis in Gaza, saying it would pursue suspension of trade agreements and declare two far-right Israeli ministers ‘persona non grata’ if conditions fail to improve.
Foreign Minister Caspar Veldkamp said in a letter to parliament that the government would summon the Israeli ambassador at ministerial level and push for EU-wide measures, including suspension of the trade component of the EU-Israel Association Agreement.
The letter cited UN reports that over one million children in Gaza face increasing hunger and malnutrition, with deaths from starvation rising amid what Veldkamp described as an ‘Israeli humanitarian blockade’.
The Netherlands has already initiated an evaluation of Article 2 of the EU-Israel Association Agreement, with the European Commission concluding there are indications Israel may be violating its obligations under the accord, in which respect for human rights and democratic principles are essential elements of the agreement.
In his letter, Veldkamp announced his country’s intention to declare Israeli ministers Bezalel Smotrich and Itamar Ben-Gvir ‘persona non grata’, citing their role in inciting settler violence and advocating for ‘ethnic cleansing in the Gaza Strip’. The Netherlands will also register them as ‘undesirable aliens’ in the Schengen registration system.
‘Regarding Dutch arms exports, the cabinet is clear: as the situation in Gaza now stands, it is virtually impossible for a license to be granted for the export to Israel of weapons that could contribute to the activities of the Israeli armed forces in the Gaza Strip or the West Bank,’ the letter said. It noted that since 7 October 2023, the Dutch government has rejected 11 licence applications for military and dual-use goods to Israel while approving two licences for Iron Dome air defence system components via Germany.
The Netherlands also announced plans to expand its ‘discouragement policy’ – actively advising Dutch businesses against economic activities in Israeli settlements – including potentially extending this to Dutch pension funds.
But the growing resolve over Israel’s actions in Gaza faces significant legal hurdles, according to Eline Mooring, partner at Amsterdam law firm Agorax.
‘It is longstanding Dutch policy not to impose national sanctions,’ she noted in a LinkedIn post, explaining that the Dutch Sanctions Act 1977 and its upcoming successor only allow The Netherlands to implement sanctions based on international treaties or decisions by international organisations, not unilateral measures.
Mooring noted that, while The Netherlands is unable to impose EU-style sanctions unilaterally, it can issue national entry bans under domestic law, barring the Israeli ministers from Dutch territory. Likewise, it cannot impose a unilateral arms embargo, but can tighten export licensing to effectively block weapons sales.
For broader sanctions, The Netherlands depends on EU consensus. The European Commission on Monday proposed suspending Israel from parts of the EU’s Horizon Europe research programme, but this also requires approval from Member States.
An email to the Israeli embassy in The Hague did not receive an immediate response, but Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Saar said on X that he had formally reprimanded the Dutch ambassador following The Netherlands’ sanctions threats, telling her that ‘the Dutch government’s policy towards Israel fuels antisemitism in the Netherlands’. He added that The Netherlands had converted ‘a long-standing friendship with Israel into open hostility towards it’.
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