The new law includes penalties of up to six years in prison and could even affect a nativity scene from Bethlehem. Customs required the luggage of those arriving from Tel Aviv to detect products from Judea and Samaria or the Golan Heights
In the context of a concerning escalation of regulatory pressures international and antisemitism against the State of Israel, the Netherlands began to implement strict measures aimed at sanctioning the importation of products from settlements in West Bank, the Golan Heights, and East Jerusalem. As of September 22, a disastrous law approved by the Dutch government a few days ago officially came into effect.
The retroactive regulation establishes absolute prohibitions covering all imported products, extending to personal luggage and traveler souvenirs, and including administrative and criminal penalties for those goods whose origin labels have been altered. Even if a product has been manufactured only partially in the region — it suffices that it contains one single ingredient from those areas — the penalty will be applied with full legal rigor, regardless of whether the purchase was made before the law came into effect.
Gideon Sa’ar, on X
The legislation imposes severe penalties for the intentional infringement or evasion of these provisions, which can reach up to six years in prison or a substantial fine. Additionally, unintentional infringements carry punishments that include imprisonment of up to one year. Reflecting the punitive extremism of the measure, the simple act of bringing a religious souvenir such as a nativity scene from Bethlehem could result in a sentence of up to six years in prison.
This prohibitive policy immediately translated into field operations at the international airport of Schiphol in Amsterdam, where Israeli passengers reported being subjected to thorough luggage inspections and intense customs checks. The absolute focus of police actions occurred after the ban came into effect, when authorities required all passengers arriving from Tel Aviv to Amsterdam on a flight from El Al to undergo a specific customs check to verify if they were carrying products from Judea and Samaria or the Golan Heights.
According to a detailed report by the news site Nieuwsrecht, travelers from Tel Aviv were passing through the "Nothing to declare" lane when they were intercepted by a customs officer who exclaimed: "Are you coming from Tel Aviv? Yes? Everyone coming from Israel, come this way!". At that moment, all passengers from El Al were required to submit their luggage to a security scanner.
Amsterdam Airport
To enforce the measure, a unit of the Royal Netherlands Gendarmerie was assigned to conduct additional checks on passengers arriving from Israel, in order to determine if they were carrying wine, dates, olives, or other items from East Jerusalem, West Bank, or the Golan. Along with the distribution of posters listing prohibited items, the media Nieuwsrecht described the authorities' procedure as a genuine witch hunt.
The diplomatic response from Jerusalem to the Dutch ban on the importation of products from Israeli companies in West Bank, East Jerusalem, and the Golan Heights was swift. The Israeli Ministry of Foreign Affairs formally informed the Netherlands that the diplomatic credentials issued by the Hebrew State for Dutch diplomats stationed in Ramallah would expire within seven days. Reinforcing the Israeli government's stance, Foreign Minister Gideon Sa’ar published a strong statement on social media X: "If the Netherlands wishes to continue defending its interests before the Palestinians, they can do so from the territory of the Palestinian Authority, rather than from the territory of the State of Israel".
