(Oct. 6, 2026 / JNS)
Israeli President Isaac Herzog in an interview published on Tuesday urged Dutch Prime Minister Rob Jetten to demand Hamas’s disarmament, and called for renewed dialogue with The Hague.
“Why don’t I hear Prime Minister Jetten say, ‘We demand that Hamas disarm’?” Herzog asked during the interview with Dutch daily De Telegraaf. “Then a technocratic government can come in, and a new future for Gaza can begin.”
The interview followed recent Dutch sanctions against Israel, including a ban on products from Israeli communities in Judea and Samaria, the Golan Heights and eastern Jerusalem.
“I extend my hand to the Netherlands and its leaders,” Herzog told De Telegraaf. “Let’s talk to each other again.” He also invited Jetten to visit the site of the Nova music festival, where Hamas terrorists murdered more than 300 people on Oct. 7, 2023.
In the interview, Herzog noted the “enormous love” for the Netherlands among Israelis and said the bond between the two countries runs much deeper than current political differences.
At the same time, he said Israelis feel the Dutch political establishment has launched a fierce attack on the Jewish state. “It’s like people hate us again,” he said. “You deported the Jews from the country during the Holocaust. Now you’re trying to push Israel out. Why?”
“Europe should thank Israel every morning, afternoon and evening for the way we protect it. Iranian missiles can also reach Amsterdam and The Hague,” Herzog added. “Israel is not your enemy, but your ally.”
Geert Wilders, leader of the Dutch right-wing Party for Freedom, shared the interview on X. He said he had submitted questions about it for Tuesday’s question hour in the House of Representatives.
“What happened to the Netherlands?” the opposition lawmaker wrote. “The Netherlands is led by Israel-haters who pursue antisemitic policies, fueled and supported by left-liberal Hamas lovers.”
“Oral questions to Prime Minister Jetten have been submitted for the question hour. Hope the Speaker of the House lets them proceed,” Wilders added.
The Dutch sanctions against Israel, which took effect on Sept. 22, ban the import, purchase and sale of goods from Jewish communities in Judea and Samaria, eastern Jerusalem and the Golan Heights that the Netherlands considers “illegal settlements.”
After the ban took effect, passengers arriving at Amsterdam Airport Schiphol from Israel reported unusually extensive customs checks.
Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Sa’ar on Sept. 27 ordered Dutch diplomats operating in Ramallah to return their Israeli-issued diplomatic credentials within seven days. Their diplomatic privileges and immunities granted by Israel would expire after that period.
“If the Netherlands wishes to continue representing its interests with the Palestinians, it may do so from Palestinian Authority territory, rather than from the territory of the State of Israel,” Jerusalem’s top diplomat said last month.
The retaliatory steps followed another Israeli measure against the Netherlands. On Aug. 25, Sa’ar ordered the Dutch delegation removed from the U.S.-led Gaza coordination center in Kiryat Gat, citing a series of “anti-Israel measures” by The Hague, including the then-pending goods ban.
Tensions had already surfaced in July, when Sa’ar warned Dutch Foreign Minister Tom Berendsen that adopting a “one-sided anti-Israel narrative” would “severely damage our longstanding great ties.”
Sa’ar also raised concerns during that conversation over the Netherlands’ restoration of full funding to the terror-linked U.N. Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA), after the previous Dutch government had reduced its contribution following the Oct. 7 massacre.