Dutch Outlaw Judea and Samaria Trade

From 22 September, a ban on the import and trade of Israeli products from Judea and Samaria (the West Bank) will come into force. This was announced by the Dutch Minister for Foreign Affairs, Mr Berendsen on 21 July 2026.

The Netherlands considers the Israeli villages in this area to be “illegal settlements”. The government has therefore repeatedly called for a trade ban within the European Union, but has failed to secure sufficient support for this. Consequently, the government has turned its attention to national measures. In May 2026, the government submitted a sanctions decree to the Council of State for an urgent advisory opinion. The Council’s opinion did not lead to any amendments to the decree. Consequently, the ban will come into force at the end of September. Breaching the ban may result in a prison sentence of up to six years.

“Because the Dutch government failed to secure sufficient support for an EU trade ban it has now turned its attention to national measures”

Pieter van Oordt, director of the Israel Products Centre (IPC), describes the trade ban as “extremely disappointing. The government set the whole process in motion as a matter of urgency. That does show that they were very keen to do this and wanted to get it implemented as quickly as possible.”

“The ban affects not only Jewish business owners in Judea and Samaria, but also thousands of workers, including many Palestinians”

Among other things, IPC sells products from Judea and Samaria. “For many years, we have worked with suppliers from Judea and Samaria, including those with a large number of Palestinian employees. The ban affects not only Jewish business owners in Judea and Samaria, but also thousands of workers who earn their living there every day, including many Palestinians. The irony of this measure is that the government claims it is standing up for the Palestinians, whilst those actually affected by it are, in fact, Palestinian workers,” said Van Oordt. Van Oordt hopes to sell all the products from Judea and Samaria that he has purchased this year by 22 September. Almost two-thirds of this stock has now been sold.

Painful Message
Roger van Oordt, the former Director of Christians for Israel Netherlands and the Honorary Consul of Israel in the Netherlands recently stated: “What we are seeing is Jew-hatred in its deepest form. The measures are against some 700,000 Jews living where they’ve lived for 2,000 years, despite partial expulsions. Many in Europe think we need to decide where Jews can live. Not there. But also not here, because we don’t protect them here (in Europe) either.”