Israel has revoked the diplomatic status of Dutch diplomats in Ramallah in the occupied West Bank, Israeli authorities said on Sunday.
In a statement issued on Sunday evening, Israel’s Foreign Ministry said Foreign Minister Gideon Saar had informed the Dutch embassy that its diplomats in Ramallah must return the diplomatic documents issued to them by Israel within seven days. After that period, their “immunities and rights in Israel” would expire, the statement said.
Israel said the measure followed steps taken by the Dutch government, including a ban on the import and trade of products from Israeli settlements in the occupied West Bank, East Jerusalem and the Golan Heights.
The Dutch government began implementing a comprehensive ban last week on the import, marketing and sale of settlement products. The ban covers commercial imports by companies and goods carried by individual travellers entering the Netherlands, according to statements by Dutch customs authorities and the Foreign Ministry in The Hague. It also prohibits Dutch companies operating abroad from brokering or participating in trade with settlements.
The ban includes settlement products carried in travellers’ personal luggage as “souvenirs or gifts”. If customs officials seize such a product, the public prosecutor’s office will decide whether to bring legal proceedings. Deliberate violations can carry a prison sentence of up to six years or a fine of up to €103,000.
