Israel Recalls Envoy from Netherlands After Minister Criticism
Translated & summarized from NEWSru Israel by baba
Israel's ambassador to the Netherlands, Tzvi Aviner-Vapni, was urgently summoned to Jerusalem after criticizing Israeli ministers Itamar Ben-Gvir and Bezalel Smotrich in a newspaper interview. Aviner-Vapni called their statements "terrible and unacceptable" and condemned violence by Jewish radicals. The ambassador also defended Israel's war against Hamas and rejected genocide accusations. The Netherlands had previously declared Ben-Gvir and Smotrich persona non grata in July 2025.
The story in 5 lines · by baba
- Ambassador Tzvi Aviner-Vapni recalled to Israel after criticizing ministers Ben-Gvir and Smotrich.
- Aviner-Vapni called ministers' statements "terrible and unacceptable" in a Dutch newspaper interview.
- Ambassador condemned Jewish radical violence, calling extremists "hooligans and Jewish terrorists."
- Aviner-Vapni defended Israel's war against Hamas and rejected genocide accusations.
- Dutch authorities declared Ben-Gvir and Smotrich persona non grata in July 2025.
Israel's ambassador to the Netherlands, Tzvi Aviner-Vapni, has been urgently summoned to Jerusalem following an interview with the Dutch newspaper Algemeen Dagblad. In the interview, published on November 7, Aviner-Vapni condemned statements made by Israeli Ministers Itamar Ben-Gvir and Bezalel Smotrich regarding Palestinians and the war in Gaza. "They said things that I consider terrible and completely unacceptable. I have no desire whatsoever to defend them," the ambassador stated. He also strongly denounced violence by Jewish radicals in Judea and Samaria, referring to a few thousand extremists among hundreds of thousands of settlers as "hooligans and Jewish terrorists" whose "place is in prison." Despite his criticism of the ministers and settlers, Aviner-Vapni defended Israel's actions in its war against Hamas and rejected accusations of genocide and ethnic cleansing. In July 2025, the Dutch authorities declared Ben-Gvir and Smotrich persona non grata, accusing them of inciting violence against Palestinians.
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