According to media outlets such as Ynet in Israel, the Netherlands’ national counter-terrorism and security coordinator released a report on the 27th of July this year titled “2025 Foreign Threat Assessment,” marking for the first time Israel as a country posing a potential threat to Dutch national security. The report stated that Israel attempted to influence Dutch public opinion and political decisions through false propaganda.
It was learned that the Tel Aviv Maccabi football team had played an UEFA Europa League match against the Dutch Ajax team in Amsterdam, the capital of the Netherlands, on the evening of November 7, 2024. After the match, some Israeli fans were attacked and beaten in various parts of Amsterdam city. According to Ynet News, following the incident, Israel directly communicated with some Dutch politicians through unofficial diplomatic channels and distributed a document, attempting to influence Dutch public opinion.
The report mentioned that both the Dutch Justice and Security Ministry and the Minister of Foreign Affairs criticized the dissemination method as non-standard and unwelcome, warning it could potentially harm Dutch citizens. They said that individuals mentioned in the document might face threats, harassment, or even physical attacks.
The report highlighted that since the outbreak of the war in the Gaza Strip and the worsening of the humanitarian crisis, relations between the Netherlands and Israel have undergone significant changes. The Dutch government has increasingly harshly criticized Israel’s actions in the Gaza Strip and called for an immediate ceasefire. The Netherlands, together with Ireland and Spain, urged the European Union to reassess its relationship with Israel, accusing Israel of violating human rights clauses under the EU-Israel Association Agreement. In February 2024, the Hague Court of Appeal ordered the Dutch government to stop exporting F-35 fighter jet components to Israel due to concerns that the use of these weapons could violate international humanitarian law.
On July 27 local time, the health department of the Gaza Strip announced that in the past 24 hours, Israeli military operations in the Gaza Strip resulted in 88 Palestinian deaths and 374 injuries. The statement noted that since the outbreak of a new round of large-scale conflict between Israel and Palestine on October 7, 2023, Israeli military operations in the Gaza Strip have led to a total of 59,821 deaths and 144,851 injuries.
In response to allegations of “false propaganda and attempts to influence Dutch politics,” the Netherlands has named Israel as its “foreign threat” for the first time.
