Netherlands regrets Israel's decision to revoke the accreditation of its diplomats in the West Bank

The minister explained that the suspension of imports stems from "the obligation under international law not to contribute to an illegal situation, namely illegal settlements."

For its part, the Palestinian Ministry of Foreign Affairs condemned what it described as "Israeli blackmail of Dutch diplomacy," demanding the international community adopt "a unified stance to protect diplomatic work in Palestine."

The ministry said in a statement on Monday: "The State of Palestine affirms that Dutch diplomats are welcome on the land of the occupied State of Palestine, and that Israel has no sovereignty over any part of the land of the State of Palestine."

It rejected "the blackmail and threats practiced by the Israeli occupation authorities to pressure countries into influencing their fair and courageous stances, and to reduce the international and diplomatic presence in Palestine in order to pass their crimes without witnesses."

Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Sa'ar announced Sunday that Dutch officials in the West Bank have a seven-day deadline to hand over their diplomatic documents issued by Israel.

He wrote on X, "After this period, the diplomatic privileges and immunities granted to them by the State of Israel will expire."

Israeli media reported in recent days testimonies of travelers from Israel whose bags were searched upon arrival at Schiphol Airport in Amsterdam.

Opposition leader and Yesh Atid (There is a Future) party chairman Yair Lapid described this ban as an "unprecedented diplomatic failure."

He said in a post on the X platform, "Through proper diplomatic work, and through effective public diplomacy, the anti-Israel wave can be stopped and our image as a beloved country in the world can be restored."

He added, "This will not happen with this government. The correction will begin within a month," referring to the date of the Israeli legislative elections scheduled for October 27.

The Dutch government had announced in July a ban on importing products from Israeli settlements in the occupied Palestinian territories—which are illegal outposts under international law—effective September 22.

Britain, France, and Canada announced at the beginning of the month their intention to impose sanctions on trade exchanges with Israeli settlements in the occupied West Bank, raising the tone against Israel, which responded by announcing the closure of the British consulate in Jerusalem.

With the exception of East Jerusalem, about three million Palestinians live in the West Bank, which Israel has occupied since 1967, in addition to more than 500,000 Israelis residing in settlements that are illegal under international law.

In a separate development, an Israeli court decided on Monday to release Palestinian-American journalist Naqa Hamed after about two weeks of detention on charges of "cooperating with the enemy," according to her lawyer.

Lawyer Khaled Mahajneh said in a telephone call with AFP that the Israeli Salem Military Court in the northern occupied West Bank "decided to release Hamed on bail of 8,000 shekels (about $2,600 US), and that she must comply with interrogation summonses or complete the trial if requested to do so."

According to the lawyer, Hamed will be released later Monday at the Jalama crossing near Jenin "after two weeks of detention in difficult conditions in Damon prison" in Haifa in northern Israel.

The Israeli army arrested Hamed on September 15 at a military checkpoint in the town of Tuqu' near Bethlehem in the southern West Bank, while she was returning from a journalistic assignment for the Turkish channel TRT, according to her family and a journalist who was with her at the time.

Until recently, Hamed worked for the Iranian Press TV channel, which in turn reported the news of her arrest, presenting her as its correspondent in the West Bank. However, Hamed's colleagues said she had stopped cooperating with Press TV about a month ago and became a freelance journalist.

The Israeli government considers Press TV to be a propaganda tool in the hands of the Iranian regime.

Mahajneh said that the investigation with Hamed focused on "the clause of incitement against settlers and the Israeli army, and the clause of communicating with a foreign agent and providing news and information to news agencies described as hostile according to Israeli standards."

He added that the journalist was brought before the courts four times, and "we tried to refute all the suspicions and accusations they tried to pin on her by arguing that her work is purely journalistic, clear, and legitimate, not done in secret, and does not constitute the charges leveled against her."