As part of measures to place pressure on Israel over the humanitarian crisis in Gaza, the Netherlands has banned far-right Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich and National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir from entering the country, as per reports. In a letter to Netherlands lawmakers, the Netherlands’ Foreign Minister Caspar Valdekamp said the decision that has been taken against Smotrich and Ben Gvir “is because they have repeatedly incited violence by settlers against the Palestinian population and… called for ethnic cleansing in the Gaza Strip”, The Times of Israel reported, citing local newspaper Algemeen Dagblad. Reacting to the decision, Ben Gvir, in a post on X, said: “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.” The decision to ban Ben Gvir and Smotrich from entering the Netherlands comes a day after the Netherlands’ Prime Minister Dick Schoof said that his government was “considering taking national measures” against Israel, apart from supporting a European Union proposal to partially suspend funding for Israeli researchers. Last week, the Israel Defence Forces (IDF) announced that the military will carry out a “local tactical pause of military activity” in densely populated areas of the Gaza Strip, starting from 10 a.m. (local time) to 8 p.m. (local time). (IANS)
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