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Israeli envoy to Netherlands recalled after criticising Ben Gvir and Smotrich
Zvi Aviner Vapni told interviewer 'I feel no need whatsoever to protect them'
Israel’s Ambassador to the Netherlands, Zvi Aviner Vapni, has been summoned home for a clarification meeting after publicly criticising two far-right Israeli ministers.
In an interview with Algemeen Dagblad, Vapni said, “National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir and Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich have said things that I find terrible and unacceptable. I feel no need whatsoever to protect them.”
He also described violent settler extremists in the West Bank as “hooligans and Jewish terrorists.”
“They should all go to prison,” Vapni added. “I think 80% of Israelis agree with that. This violence must stop. I do not want to defend it; what they are doing is reprehensible.”
This unusual step came after Vapni’s interview with the Dutch newspaper Algemeen Dagblad, titled “17 Tough Questions for the Israeli Ambassador.”
In it, he sharply criticised Ben-Gvir and Smotrich and later shared the interview on X.
The interviewer pressed Vapni on whether his condemnation included Ben-Gvir and Smotrich, citing reports that Smotrich described starving Gaza’s two million residents as morally acceptable and Ben-Gvir had called for killing 30 to 40 Gaza residents every night.
“Absolutely,” Vapni replied. “They have said things that I find terrible and unacceptable. I feel no need whatsoever to defend them.”
Vapni also condemned violence by extremist Jewish settlers against Palestinians in the West Bank.
Asked about rising settler attacks, Vapni distinguished between the general settler population and those involved in violence.
“Not all settlers are violent. There are 300,000 people living in settlements, but only several thousand are extremists,” he said.
“These are Jewish hooligans and terrorists, and they should all go to prison. I think 80% of Israelis agree. This violence must stop. I will not defend it. What they are doing is despicable.”
Vapni, appointed ambassador to the Netherlands over a year ago, has previously faced diplomatic tensions with the Dutch government regarding Israel’s actions in Gaza and the West Bank.
The first meeting occurred in May after Israel intercepted a flotilla bound for Gaza and released what the newspaper called a “humiliation video.”
The second meeting was in September, after Israel revoked the diplomatic status of several members of the Dutch mission in Ramallah—the administrative center of the Palestinian Authority.
This move followed the Netherlands’ decision to ban imports of goods produced in Israeli settlements.
Despite his criticism of Israeli politicians and settler violence, Vapni defended Israel’s military campaign in Gaza against accusations of genocide and ethnic cleansing.
Asked if he understood the anger generated by images of destruction and suffering in Gaza, Vapni acknowledged their impact.
“Of course I understand. Those images are terrible,” he said. “But this is what war looks like. This is not genocide or ethnic cleansing, but a brutal war against a brutal terrorist organization.”
Vapni said Israel did not seek war in Gaza before the Hamas-led attack on southern Israel on October 7, 2023.
“If we could have avoided this war, we would have. We did not start it and had no plans to invade Gaza,” he said.
Vapni argued that international perceptions of Israel’s actions often fail to account for the circumstances leading to the conflict.
“If you ignore that context and see Israel only as a country that decided to exterminate the Palestinians after October 7, 2023, I understand the anger,” he said. “But it is very frustrating, especially because it is so difficult to explain these things.”
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