Netherlands bans Smotrich, Ben Gvir from entering country
Israeli government ministers Itamar Ben-Gvir and Bezalel Smotrich will no longer be allowed to enter the Netherlands, which accuses them of repeatedly inciting violence against Palestinians and calling for an "ethnic cleansing" of the Gaza strip.
The Dutch decision follows similar moves last month by Britain, Canada, Australia, New Zealand and Norway.
The government said it supported the EU's recommendation to curb Israeli access to its flagship research funding programme and said it would press for European trade sanctions if Israel was found to be in breach of its agreement with the European Union on increasing aid supplies. Reuters
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Roya News
an hour ago
- Roya News
Trump says he is working on plan to provide food and aid to Gaza
President of the United States Donald Trump revealed in an interview with Axios that he is working on a plan to deliver food and humanitarian aid to people in the Gaza Strip. Trump said the primary goal of the initiative is to help Palestinians in Gaza live with dignity, noting that such efforts should have been made a long time ago. He expressed concern over reports of famine in Gaza and accused Hamas of stealing and selling the aid that reaches the enclave. He stressed that the aid should go directly to the Palestinian people without interference from any other party. Trump also praised the work of US envoy Steve Witkoff, calling him "tremendous" in supporting relief efforts. However, he said he had not yet been briefed on Witkoff's recent visit to Gaza.
Roya News
6 hours ago
- Roya News
UN says 1,373 killed while waiting for aid in Gaza since late May
The UN human rights office said Friday that 1,373 Palestinians have been killed while waiting for aid in the shortage-stricken Gaza Strip since late May, most of them by the 'Israeli' military. "In total, since 27 May, at least 1,373 Palestinians have been killed while seeking food; 859 in the vicinity of (US- and 'Israeli'-backed Gaza Humanitarian Foundation) sites and 514 along the routes of food convoys," the UN agency's office for the Palestinian territories said in a statement.
Al Bawaba
8 hours ago
- Al Bawaba
Netanyahu gambles on his last chance to prevent the collapse of his rule
Published August 1st, 2025 - 08:51 GMT ALBAWABA - Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is in danger of losing his weak government, so he has promised to slowly take over parts of the Gaza Strip if Hamas doesn't agree to end the fighting within days. The move comes as his minority government, which has only 50 seats now that ultra-Orthodox parties quit, faces growing problems within the country and pressure from other countries. Haaretz says the takeover plan seems to be less about security and more about making friends with far-right groups. In particular, it seems to be an attempt to make Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich happy, since his Religious Zionism party has threatened to leave the government if aid keeps coming into Gaza. Netanyahu told his security cabinet about the plan on July 28. Hamas would have a short time to agree to a halt, and if they didn't, Israel would start taking over land, starting with buffer zones and then moving north. According to Channel 12, Strategic Affairs Minister Ron Dermer gave the plan to U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio. Netanyahu said the White House showed approval. President Trump, on the other hand, was not at the meeting. According to political expert Wissam Afifa, the move was a "political gamble." He said that Netanyahu is using annexation as a bargaining chip to keep his government together instead of a real security plan. Netanyahu has been quietly told by Smotrich that he will judge him "by actions, not words." Meanwhile, National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir called for Hamas to be destroyed, Gaza to be fully occupied, and a lot of Palestinians to be forced to leave their homes. The world cares about the two-state solution again. Is it too late? 'Canada condemns the fact that the Israeli government has let the situation deteriorate in Gaza to this extent,' said Prime Minister Mark Carney. Opinion piece @ishaantharoor — Ashis Basu 🇨🇦 (@BasuAshis) August 1, 2025 Other far-right and Likud lawmakers have asked the defense minister to let people visit the borders of Gaza, calling it the "heartland of Israel." Some even said that "just as much as Tel Aviv does," Gaza is part of Israel. The language shows that divisions are rising in Netanyahu's government, where far-right ministers are using the war to push for extreme territory goals. Observers say that the danger of annexation shows that Israel's war goals have changed from beating Hamas to taking control of more land. After almost two years of war, famine, and siege, Gaza is now being talked about by the government as land that should be added to Israel, not just as a security problem. According to researcher Firas Yaghi, the move is part of a larger plan for the United States and Israel to work together to change the area. He said that annexation could reduce the size of Gaza, force many of its people to move, and make security plans like those in the West Bank. But Afifa called the plan a "admission of failure" because it shows that Israel can't do what it says it can do, which is to end Hamas's rule or get the prisoners back. He said that instead, Hamas could use the fear of annexation to get people around the world to oppose Israel's war and see it as an attempt to take over more land. Effects on the law and relations Any attempt to take over Gaza would have very bad legal effects. Under Israeli law, land that has been seized cannot be given back without the approval of 80 Knesset members or a national vote, which have never happened before. Some people in Israel have also said that the plan is not possible. A minister told Haaretz that annexation was "not on the agenda." Avi Issacharoff, a security expert, called the threat "one of the dumbest empty threats I've heard" and said it would cause a backlash around the world without putting any pressure on Hamas. On a global level, support for recognizing Palestine as a state is growing. Before the UN General Assembly in September, nine countries are expected to say they recognize the Palestinian Authority. French President Emmanuel Macron and UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer have both said they will recognize the Palestinian Authority if Israel does not change its mind. Legal experts say that any transfer would be against international law because Gaza is still controlled land even though Israel left it in 2005. The International Court of Justice has said that East Jerusalem, Gaza, and the West Bank are all controlled areas that are governed by the UN. © 2000 - 2025 Al Bawaba (
