Zein Khalil and Mohammad Sio
25 August 2026•Update: 25 August 2026
Israel on Tuesday expelled Dutch representatives from a Gaza coordination center following the Netherlands’ decision to ban imports from illegal Israeli settlements in occupied territories, the Israeli foreign minister said.
“Representatives of the Netherlands will be expelled immediately from the International Support Center for Gaza in Kiryat Gat,” Gideon Saar said in a post on the US social media company X.
Saar said the decision was made at the request of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu following what he described as “a series of anti-Israel measures taken by the Dutch government.”
He said the latest measure was “the enactment of a law prohibiting trade in Israeli products from Judea and Samaria (West Bank), East Jerusalem, and the Golan Heights, which will take effect next month.”
The US-led command center in Kiryat Gat, officially known as the Civil-Military Coordination Center, was established by US Central Command to oversee implementation of the Gaza ceasefire agreement and monitor the implementation of the US peace plan.
Saar said the Dutch Embassy in Israel and “our American friends” were notified of the decision Tuesday evening.
“The Dutch representatives have been instructed to leave Israel within one week,” he added.
“The Dutch government’s anti-Israel policy has been accompanied by an unprecedented wave of antisemitism and boycotts in the Netherlands,” Saar claimed.
“Our message is clear: Those who act against Israel will have no foothold in the region. Israel will not allow measures to be taken against it without a response,” he added.
Dutch authorities did not immediately comment on the decision.
The Dutch government decided in late July 2026 to ban the import, purchase and sale of products originating from illegal Israeli settlements in the occupied Palestinian territories, with the measure due to take effect Sept. 22, 2026.
On July 31, 2026, the Board of Peace issued a document titled A Roadmap for Completing the Implementation of President Trump’s Comprehensive Peace Plan in Gaza, which calls for a phased Israeli withdrawal alongside steps to disarm Hamas.
The roadmap also calls for transferring Gaza’s administration to a Palestinian technocratic committee and deploying an international stabilization force, according to the document.
It also calls for placing weapons under the authority of a national committee overseeing the territory under international supervision, alongside reconstruction efforts.
The Civil-Military Coordination Center was established in Kiryat Gat in southern Israel with the participation of 40 countries and organizations to monitor the Gaza ceasefire, facilitate aid deliveries and plan for the postwar phase.
Israel has waged a genocide on Gaza since Oct. 8, 2023, killing more than 73,000 Palestinians and injuring more than 174,000 others, most of them women and children, according to Palestinian figures.