Dutch authorities force El Al passengers through customs check for West Bank products
Israel warns travellers to Netherlands of ‘long, invasive’ checks under new settlement-goods ban effective from 22 September
Passengers arriving at Amsterdam’s Schiphol Airport on an El Al flight from Tel Aviv claim customs officials searched their luggage for products from West Bank settlements.
The claim came one day after a new Dutch law banning the import, sale or purchase of settlement products, with penalties of up to six years in prison, came into effect. The new legislation allows Dutch customs to inspect personal luggage for products made in Israeli communities in Judea and Samaria, which the Netherlands define as “illegal settlements.”
The ban extends to souvenirs, gifts and products carried for personal use and passengers may be required to prove where an item was produced.
Dutch media news site Nieuwrechts reported that passengers were required to put their luggage through an X-ray machine and customs officials asked about wine, dates, olives and other products that could have originated in areas covered by the new restrictions.
Its article on 25 September alleges: “The man operating the screening machine became irritated by the El Al passengers huddled together in the small space by the sign: Nothing to declare. He stood up…..and shouted: ‘Go away, go away, get in line. I can’t see anything on the screen like this. Everyone needs to be checked!’
A man responded: ‘Hey dude, they’re from Israel. They don’t speak Dutch.’ Then the customs officer roared in English: ‘Shut the f*** up, shut the f*** up and wait!!!’ One of the Israelis asked: ‘What is going on? Why do they treat us like this?’
It reports that a mother with young children said: “We are just tourists. We didn’t do anything wrong, we come here for Sukkot, Jewish Holidays.'”
Posters, with a list of prohibited items, have been distributed with a list of prohibited items and airport lightboxes display the sanctions and the penalties that can be imposed.
The product ban prompted Israel’s Foreign Minister Gideon Sa’ar to revoke the credentials of Dutch diplomats serving in Ramallah on Sunday 27 September, writing: “In light of the entry into force last week of an order banning the import and trade of products from Judea and Samaria, East Jerusalem and the Golan Heights, we informed the Dutch Embassy in Israel this evening that Dutch diplomats operating in Ramallah must return within seven days the diplomatic documentation issued to them by Israel.”
He added: “If the Netherlands wishes to continue representing its interests with the Palestinians, it may do so from Palestinian Authority territory, rather than from the territory of the State of Israel.”
Israel’s Foreign Ministry is now warning citizens planning to travel to the Netherlands that they “may encounter difficulties and lengthy, invasive baggage inspections.”
As part of a post on his Twitter/X account, Israeli Opposition Leader Yair Lapid said: “The fact that Israelis are landing in the Netherlands and rummaging through their bags to search for and confiscate products from the settlements is a diplomatic failure unlike anything that has ever happened before.”
US Ambassador to Israel Mike Huckabee commented on social media: “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. A Nativity set from Bethlehem could put you in prison! Insane!”
Elsewhere in the Netherlands, a 22-year old Palestinian student from Gaza brought to Maastricht University as part of an educational programme in July 2026, has been provisionally suspended after posting a now-deleted video of himself, lying on a couch, watching footage of the 7 October 2023 Hamas massacre in Israel.
In widely shared footage, the student appears to point to the screen, laugh at the masked terrorists, give a thumbs ‘up’ and is heard saying: “7th of October… this is me.”
Dutch authorities said there is currently no evidence that he was actually one of the terrorists appearing in the footage he was watching.
NL Times, an English language news website that covers events in the Netherlands reports that a university spokesperson confirmed the student “is provisionally suspended and therefore may not take part in classes. During that period it can be determined whether and under what conditions that student may continue his studies.”
The post and the reactions were “such that we could not rule out concern and unrest among the students. Therefore, the student needed to be suspended in order to proceed “safely and without threat or disruption.”
Far-right leader Geert Wilders, Dutch leader of the Party for Freedom has called for the student to be deported.