Smotrich accuses the Netherlands of ‘surrender’ to radical Islam for declaring him persona non grata

Far-right Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich accuses 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.

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.”

“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 posts on X.

“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.”