Passengers arriving on a direct flight from Tel Aviv to Amsterdam’s Schiphol Airport said they were subjected to unusual inspections after landing, according to the conservative Dutch website Nieuwsrecht.
One explanation raised in the Dutch press was that the checks may be connected to a new Dutch law banning imports of products from Israeli settlements in the West Bank and Golan Heights. The law, which took effect last week on September 22, provides for penalties of up to six years in prison for importing, purchasing, selling or commercially brokering products originating in what it defines as “illegal settlements.”
Amsterdam’s Schiphol Airport
(Photo: REUTERS/Piroschka Van De Wouw)
There has been no official confirmation that Dutch authorities have begun enforcing the law.
According to Nieuwsrecht, passengers arriving from Tel Aviv were required to put their luggage through an X-ray machine.
“Why? We already went through extensive security checks in Tel Aviv, didn’t we?” one passenger asked.
“We always do this on intercontinental flights,” a customs official replied.
Passengers cited in the report, however, said the inspections appeared to focus on wine, dates, olives and other products originating in East Jerusalem, the West Bank or the Golan Heights. Information about sanctions for violating the new Dutch law was also displayed on notice boards at the airport.
The passengers also complained about the treatment they received from Dutch customs officials.
According to a report in the local press, one passenger approached a customs officer and said: “Listen, mate, they’re from Israel. They don’t speak Dutch.”
The officer responded angrily and, according to the testimonies, shouted: “Shut the f***ing hell up, shut the f***ing hell up and wait.”
Dudi, 82, who is due to fly from Tel Aviv to Amsterdam next week, was quoted as saying he feared he would not make it through customs without problems.
“My blood is boiling,” he said. “Because it means the burden of proof is on the passenger. No receipt, no entry into the Netherlands. I was born during the war and had to hide. Jews were marked and discriminated against then too. Now it is happening again. They are marking us.”
U.S. Ambassador to Israel Mike Huckabee sharply criticized the Dutch measure in a post on X. He said Dutch travelers he met at a church told him that before flying home they would have to check their souvenirs to make sure they did not originate in the West Bank, because possessing such an item could, according to him, lead to a prison sentence of up to six years.
Huckabee called the situation “insane” and described the Dutch conduct as “an absolute outrage.”
The dispute comes as Israel has taken action against the Netherlands over the new law.
Foreign Minister Gideon Sa'ar announced Sunday evening that Dutch diplomats operating in Ramallah would no longer be able to do so from Israeli territory.
“In light of the entry into force last week of an order banning the import and trade of products from Judea and Samaria, East Jerusalem and the Golan Heights, we informed the Dutch Embassy in Israel this evening that Dutch diplomats operating in Ramallah must return within seven days the diplomatic documentation issued to them by Israel,” Sa'ar wrote.
He said that after that period, the immunities and privileges granted to them by Israel under that framework would expire.
“If the Netherlands wishes to continue representing its interests vis-à-vis the Palestinians, it can do so from Palestinian Authority territory and not from the territory of the State of Israel,” Saar said.
Sa'ar also noted that last month the activity of the Dutch representation at the International Gaza Support Center in Kiryat Gat was halted.