Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Saar ordered Dutch diplomats accredited to the Palestinian Authority in Ramallah to surrender their Israeli-issued documentation within seven days, after the Netherlands began enforcing a ban on settlement goods.

The order does not shut the Netherlands' Ramallah mission. When the seven-day clock runs out, Israeli-granted privileges expire, freedom of movement through the West Bank is stripped, and diplomats can face prosecution over contacts with Palestinians whom Israel deems involved in terrorism.

The Netherlands said Monday it regretted the move. Dutch Foreign Minister Tom Berendsen said he would summon Israel's ambassador and framed the trade ban as an international-law duty, not a penalty aimed at Israel as a whole.

What the seven-day clock means

Saar said on Sunday that his ministry had informed the Dutch Embassy in Israel that Dutch diplomats operating in Ramallah must return their Israeli-issued diplomatic papers within seven days.

"After this period, the diplomatic privileges and immunities granted to them by the State of Israel will expire," Saar wrote in a statement posted on X.

Many countries, including the Netherlands, have long stationed diplomats accredited to the Palestinian Authority in Ramallah while living in East Jerusalem. Israel has traditionally accredited those diplomats and granted them privileges under the Vienna Convention on Diplomatic Relations. Israel also controls entry into the West Bank, giving it leverage once those Israeli-issued credentials lapse. "It's a dramatic step," an Israeli official said of Saar's announcement.

Saar said that if the Netherlands wished to keep representing its interests with the Palestinians, it could do so from Palestinian Authority territory rather than from territory Israel considers its own. "Israel will not ignore measures intended to harm it," he said. "Any country that acts in a hostile and one-sided manner against Israel will lose its influence and relevance in the region."

Settlement ban and Schiphol searches

The Dutch measure entered into force on Sept. 22. It prohibits the import, purchase and sale of goods originating from Israeli settlements in the West Bank, East Jerusalem and the Golan Heights, and it bars related brokerage and intermediary services. The ban does not prohibit all trade with Israel; goods produced within Israel's internationally recognized pre-1967 borders remain outside the settlement-goods rules.

Intentional violations can draw prison terms of up to six years. Unintentional violations can draw up to one year.

The Dutch government imposed the sanctions amid a documented rise in settler attacks on Palestinians and Palestinian property in the West Bank. Palestinians have also attacked Israelis in the territory in recent weeks.

Passengers who recently arrived at Schiphol on an El Al flight from Tel Aviv reported that Dutch customs officers searched their luggage for products from West Bank settlements or the Golan Heights. Dutch Customs has said it may inspect travelers' bags and that nationality, religion and appearance are not grounds for selecting a passenger. Saar's credential order came after those searches.

Saar also accused the Dutch government of failing to seriously address "growing antisemitism and incitement" in the Netherlands and claimed its "anti-Israel policies" were fueling the phenomenon.

Netherlands regrets an unnecessary decision

"I deeply regret this unnecessary decision," Berendsen said Monday.

He said the import suspension was "not directed against Israel" but reflected "the obligation, under international law, not to contribute to an unlawful situation: the illegal settlements."

After meeting his German counterpart, Johann Wadephul, Berendsen told reporters he would summon Israel's ambassador to "talk about the details of the measures and the impact on our diplomats, who have to leave within seven days." Dutch authorities said they were still assessing how many diplomats were affected.

British precedent and other bans

Britain, France and Canada announced similar restrictions on settlement goods earlier in September. Israel ordered the closure of the British Consulate in Jerusalem after the United Kingdom's sanctions, setting an early October deadline as part of a broader package of countermeasures. British officials have disputed Israel's authority to close the East Jerusalem mission, and that dispute remains unresolved as the Dutch credential fight runs on a faster seven-day clock. As of late September, Israel had not taken matching retaliatory steps against France or Canada.

In August, Saar expelled Dutch representatives from the International Support Center for Gaza in Kiryat Gat, citing what he called anti-Israel measures by The Hague. The Ramallah credential order is a separate step aimed at the Netherlands' mission to the Palestinian Authority.

Authority condemns the move

The Palestinian Authority condemned Israel's decision against the Dutch diplomats. The Authority said Israel was trying to "reduce the international and diplomatic presence in Palestine so that it can carry out its crimes without witnesses."

"The State of Palestine affirms that Dutch diplomats are welcome on the territory of the occupied State of Palestine, and that Israel has no sovereignty over any part of the land of the State of Palestine," the Palestinian foreign ministry said.