Passengers arriving in Amsterdam on an El Al flight were reportedly searched for goods from Israeli settlements under a new Dutch trade ban [Getty]
Dutch authorities have reportedly searched the luggage of passengers arriving in Amsterdam from Tel Aviv for products originating in illegal Israeli settlements, days after a ban on the import, purchase and sale of settlement goods took effect.
Passengers travelling on an El Al flight from Tel Aviv to Amsterdam’s Schiphol Airport said they were subjected to thorough customs checks after landing, according to Israeli and Dutch media reports.
The searches came days after the Netherlands began enforcing restrictions on goods produced wholly or partly in Israeli settlements in territories occupied by Israel.
Dutch Customs has separately confirmed that officers are authorised to inspect passengers’ luggage to enforce the measure, which took effect on 22 September and applies to commercial imports as well as souvenirs, gifts and products carried for personal use.
However, Dutch authorities have not publicly confirmed whether the reported checks on the El Al passengers were specifically ordered as part of enforcing the settlement goods ban.
Israeli broadcaster Channel 12 reported on Sunday that passengers arriving from Tel Aviv had their luggage searched for products originating in settlements in the occupied West Bank and Golan Heights.
The broadcaster described the checks as unusual but did not report whether prohibited goods were found or whether action was taken against any passengers.
The conservative Dutch publication Nieuwsrecht also reported that travellers arriving at Schiphol from Tel Aviv were passing through the “Nothing to declare” lane when a customs officer called passengers arriving from Israel over for additional checks.
According to accounts subsequently reported by Israeli newspaper Ynet, passengers were required to put their luggage through an X-ray machine.
Passengers cited by Israeli media claimed officials appeared to be looking specifically for wine, dates, olives and other goods potentially originating in illegal Israeli settlements in occupied East Jerusalem, the West Bank and Golan Heights.
Dutch media also reported that a unit of the Royal Netherlands Marechaussee had been assigned to conduct additional checks on passengers arriving on flights from Israel.
Netherlands bans settlement goods
The Netherlands began enforcing its ban on settlement goods on 22 September, targeting products linked to Israeli settlements established on occupied territory.
Official Dutch Customs guidance states that “all goods that were wholly or partly obtained or made in an unlawful Israeli settlement” are prohibited from entering the country.
The Dutch government says the measure is intended to prevent economic activity in the Netherlands from contributing to an unlawful situation in territories occupied by Israel.
The prohibition applies not only to commercial importers but also to individual travellers carrying settlement products as souvenirs, gifts or for personal use.
Even affected goods purchased before the restrictions came into force cannot be brought into the Netherlands after 22 September.
Customs officers may question travellers about where products originated and inspect their luggage. If the origin cannot be established, Customs may seize the goods and draw up an official report, after which Dutch prosecutors determine whether further action should be taken.
The restrictions do not apply to products originating within Israel’s internationally recognised pre-1967 borders.
Israeli settlements in the occupied West Bank, including East Jerusalem, are illegal under international law. Israel disputes the international legal position on their status.
Israeli anger over Dutch crackdown
The reported airport searches triggered criticism from supporters of Israel’s settlement movement, including US Ambassador to Israel Mike Huckabee.
Huckabee, a staunch supporter of Israel who has repeatedly defended Israeli settlements in the occupied West Bank, called the Dutch measure “insane” in a post on X.
“There were some people from 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 6 yr prison term,” Huckabee wrote.
“A Nativity set from Bethlehem could put you in prison! Insane!”
Huckabee’s intervention comes despite the ambassador himself having recently described violent Israeli settlers attacking Palestinians in the occupied West Bank as terrorists.
In August, Huckabee called settlers besieging Palestinian homes in Qusra, including a home belonging to a Palestinian-American, “Israeli terrorists”, describing their actions as “thuggish behaviour”.
He later stood by the terminology, arguing that deliberately frightening people into changing how they live constitutes terrorism.
His criticism of the Dutch restrictions also relied on an example that does not accurately reflect the scope of the ban, as Bethlehem is a historic Palestinian city in the occupied West Bank, not an Israeli settlement.
A Palestinian-made Nativity set originating in Bethlehem would therefore not fall under the Dutch prohibition simply because it was produced in the occupied West Bank.
The measure specifically targets goods originating in Israeli settlements deemed unlawful by the Netherlands, rather than imposing a blanket ban on Palestinian products from the occupied territories.
Israel retaliates against Dutch diplomats
Israel has meanwhile retaliated against the Netherlands over its measures targeting illegal settlements, revoking the Israeli-issued diplomatic status of Dutch diplomats working at the Netherlands’ Representative Office in Ramallah in the occupied West Bank.
Israel’s foreign ministry informed the Dutch embassy on Sunday that diplomats operating in Ramallah must return their Israeli-issued diplomatic documentation within seven days.
Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Saar condemned the Dutch government’s actions and said that if the Netherlands wished to continue representing its interests with the Palestinians, it could do so “from Palestinian Authority territory, rather than from the territory of the State of Israel”.
Saar also warned that countries taking alleged “hostile and unilateral” measures against Israel would “lose influence and relevance in the region”.
Dutch Foreign Minister Tom Berendsen criticised Israel’s decision as “unnecessary” and stressed that the Dutch measures target illegal Israeli settlements rather than Israel itself.
“Our temporary sanctions are not targeted against Israel, but stem from our obligation to not contribute to the unlawful situation of the illegal settlements,” he said.
The Netherlands has framed its restrictions as part of its obligations under international law not to contribute economically to Israeli settlements established on occupied Palestinian territory.
The dispute comes amid growing European pressure over Israel’s continued settlement expansion and settler violence in the occupied West Bank.
Israel has taken similar diplomatic measures against the United Kingdom, France and Canada as Western governments have increased measures targeting Israeli settlements in the occupied Palestinian territories.