The Hague – Nour El-Din Amrani

Israel is preventing Dutch diplomats from entering Palestine and carrying out their duties at the Netherlands Representative Office in Ramallah. The Netherlands has accepted this situation without any response or comment, effectively abandoning its diplomatic engagement with Palestine.
After revoking the accreditation of Dutch diplomats stationed in Ramallah, Israel has also barred them from entering the occupied West Bank. Consequently, they are unable to perform their work, and the Dutch government has left them to face their fate alone.
While the office remains open, it is operating with only a skeleton staff of local employees. This means that the Netherlands no longer has any meaningful representation in Palestine.
This situation underscores the extent of Israel’s firm control over Palestine. Under international law, Israel has no authority to determine which diplomats may or may not enter Palestine—a matter that falls under the purview of Palestine, not Israel. Nevertheless, Israel has unilaterally seized this prerogative.
Dutch Embassy in Cairo Temporarily Closed
Meanwhile, in the Egyptian capital, the Dutch Embassy has been temporarily closed following nine consecutive days of anti-Netherlands demonstrations. On each occasion, the embassy had to be evacuated for security reasons. The unrest began after the arrest of Ahmed Nasser—a known defender of the Egyptian authorities—in the Netherlands, on charges of threatening an Egyptian activist. The activist in question had previously attached a padlock to the Egyptian Embassy in The Hague, as he believed Egypt should open the Rafah border crossing with Gaza. The Dutch Ministry of Foreign Affairs has stated that the safety of its staff remains the highest priority.