Israel says Netherlands must leave Gaza coordination center due to Dutch government’s trade restrictions

(Aug. 25, 2026 / JNS) Israel is evicting the Dutch from the US-led Civil-Military Coordination Center in the southern Israeli city of Kiryat Gat, Gideon Sa’ar, the foreign minister , said on Tuesday. The Jewish state is responding to “a series of anti-Israel measures taken by the Dutch government ,” specifically a Dutch law set to take effect next month that will ban trade of products made in Judea and Samaria, eastern Jerusalem and the Golan Heights, Sa’ar said. The Netherlands is joining other European nations, including Belgium, Ireland and Spain, in restricting trade with Jewish communities in those areas, which the global community largely deems occupied territory. US Army personnel, IDF personnel and other international officials monitor screens displaying maps and imagery of the Gaza Strip inside the Civil-Military Coordination Center (CMCC) on Nov. 20, 2025, in Kiryat Gat, Israel. Getty Images Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Sa’ar speaks during a press conference at a government building in Suva on June 2, 2026. AFP via Getty Images Israel long ago annexed eastern Jerusalem and the Golan after liberating them in defensive wars. Sa’ar wrote that he notified both the Netherlands and the United States before making his statement. Explore More 54 Americans among hundreds missing after deadly flood pummels China-Nepal border Prince Harry, Meghan Markle and their kids get private jet back to UK — and arrive without publicly funded security True horrors of Biden’s Afghan pullout emerge on 5th anniversary of suicide bomb: ‘Witness to atrocities, war crimes’ He gave Dutch representatives at the center a week to depart from Israel, and the expulsion from the center took effect immediately, he said. Established by US Central Command in October 2025, the center is a multinational command facility overseeing the Gaza cease-fire , including humanitarian aid delivery and post-war stabilization planning, such as reconstruction and security. The facility includes working areas for the Israel Defense Forces, US personnel and dozens of multinational delegations. Sa’ar said the Dutch government’s anti-Israel policy “has been accompanied by an unprecedented wave of antisemitism and boycotts in the Netherlands.” “Our message is clear,” he stated. “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.”