Passengers arriving at Amsterdam's Schiphol Airport on an El Al flight from Tel Aviv are now reportedly subjected to additional customs inspections shortly after the Netherlands implemented its boycott of products originating in Judea and Samaria, eastern Jerusalem, and the Golan Heights.
Dutch news outlet NieuwRechts reported an account of one such incident that occurred last week, one day after the new restrictions took effect. Opinion writer Sivan Behr, who was among the passengers, described how customs officials directed everyone arriving from Israel to undergo baggage screening, including travelers who had entered the Nothing to Declare lane.
Behr reported that when passengers questioned the additional inspections, a customs officer maintained that such checks were routinely conducted on intercontinental flights. Behr challenged that explanation, citing previous trips during which she had not encountered similar procedures.
According to her account, tensions escalated when another customs officer became frustrated with passengers gathering near the screening equipment and ordered them to stand in line. After being informed that some of the Israeli travelers did not understand Dutch, the officer reportedly shouted in English: "Shut the [expletive] up, shut the [expletive] up and wait!!!"
One Israeli passenger asked, "What is going on? Why do they treat us like this?" A mother traveling with children similarly protested, explaining that her family had come to the Netherlands as tourists for the Jewish holiday of Sukkot.
Behr further reported that she had received information indicating that a military police unit had been assigned to carry out additional checks on passengers arriving from Israel, particularly to identify products such as wine, dates, and olives originating in the territories covered by the Dutch restrictions.
She also described notices displayed at Schiphol warning travelers about prohibited products and potential penalties for violating the sanctions.
The report raised questions about whether passengers arriving from other countries subject to Dutch and European sanctions, including Russia, undergo comparable inspections. Behr also described growing concern among Dutch Jews traveling between Israel and the Netherlands.
Her 82-year-old uncle, who was preparing to fly from Tel Aviv to Amsterdam, expressed fear over the new procedures, particularly the possibility that passengers would be required to demonstrate where individual purchases originated.
US Ambassador to Israel Mike Huckabee also addressed the restrictions, recounting a conversation with Dutch visitors who were preparing to return home after attending church.
"There were some people from the Netherlands in our church this morning who are flying back tomorrow & have to check their souvenirs to make sure they aren’t from Judea/Samaria-possible six-year prison term. A Nativity set from Bethlehem could put you in prison! Insane!" Huckabee wrote.