Dutch security units dismayed by Israeli influence on national politics

AMSTERDAM

Security units in the Netherlands have expressed discomfort over Israel's attempts to influence and meddle in the country’s political affairs, according to local media.

Israel's Diaspora Affairs and Combating Antisemitism Ministry sent a "special report" to Dutch members of parliament ahead of a session that discussed violent incidents initiated by Amsterdam-based Maccabi supporters, according to a report published on Friday by the prominent Dutch newspaper De Volkskrant.

The Israeli report claimed that linked Dutch organizations were involved in these incidents and were pro-Hamas.

Dutch Justice and Security Minister David van Weel confirmed the existence of the Israeli report, De Volkskrant reported.

Using Israel's report, Chris Stoffer, a member of parliament from the Reformed Political Party (SGP), proposed a motion to designate Dutch organizations that Israel has labeled as pro-Hamas as terrorist organizations and add them to a sanctions list, De Volkskrant stated.

High-ranking sources within Dutch ministerial security units reportedly described Israel's intervention in Dutch politics as "undesirable," the newspaper reported.

In an interview with De Telegraaf newspaper, Israel's Diaspora Affairs and Combating Antisemitism Minister Amichai Chikli, said: "This terror network must be dismantled. Dutch authorities should take legal and economic measures against offenders, and, as Geert Wilders suggested, deport those involved."

Given the government's pro-Israel stance, two senior officials who spoke to the daily on condition of anonymity disclosed that the report has sparked worries at the highest levels of the bureaucracy.

"The ministry’s role is to identify and combat antisemitism. This report by Israel fulfills that mission. We fully support the investigation underway in the Netherlands," the newspaper said, citing Israeli Ambassador to the Netherlands Modi Ephraim as saying.