The Netherlands announced Tuesday that National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir and Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich are now banned from entering the 29 countries comprising Europe’s Schengen area.
“The cabinet decided to declare the ministers persona non grata,” the Dutch government stated, confirming that the directive has been entered into the Schengen Information System, as quoted by Haaretz.
This obligates border authorities across all member states to deny entry to the two Israeli officials.
However, according to a source cited by Haaretz, individual governments may instruct their border authorities to disregard the ban, raising questions about the directive’s uniform enforcement.
The Dutch Ministry of Foreign Affairs justified the decision by citing “exceptional circumstances,” and emphasized that the Netherlands will continue to push for coordinated measures at the EU level.
This development followed a similar move by Spain, which also barred Ben Gvir and Smotrich from entering its territory. Spanish Foreign Minister José Manuel Albares described the action as a retaliatory measure after Foreign Minister Gideon Sa’ar had prohibited two Spanish ministers from entering Israel just one day earlier.
The Netherlands had previously announced it would ban Smotrich and Ben Gvir from entering the country, claiming they "encouraged settler violence against Palestinians."
In June, the governments of the UK, Canada, New Zealand, Australia, and Norway officially announced sanctions on the two Israeli ministers.
Slovenia has also announced it would ban Smotrich and Ben Gvir from entering its territory, making it the first European Union country to take such a decision.