WATCH: Dutch MP refuses to shake Netanyahu’s hand

By +972 Magazine September 7, 2016 | Edit

‘Oh, okay,’ the Israeli prime minister responds to snub by breakaway former Labour MP.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu went to the Netherlands on Tuesday as part of his efforts to, in his words, “instill gradually” in Europe the idea that Israel is “preventing the spread of radical Islamic terrorism.”

According to press releases from the Prime Minister’s Office he has been meeting with Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte, King Willem-Alexander, and an array of parliamentarians in the Hague.

During one introduction line with Dutch parliamentarians on Wednesday, the Israeli prime minister was caught on video being snubbed by MP Tunahan Kuzu, a former Labour Party member who now leads a party of two in the parliament’s lower house.

Kuzu, who was wearing a Palestinian flag pin on his lapel, is shown mouthing something to Netanyahu while keeping his arms behind his back, effectively snubbing the Israeli prime minister’s outstretched hand. Netanyahu, caught off guard for a moment, quickly responded, “Oh, okay.”

The exchange was captured on video by Ernst Lissauer of Zoomin.tv and posted to Twitter:

Ahead of his visit, Netanyahu opined that Europe is “undergoing changes,” and that it faces the challenge of “radical Islamic terrorism.” Israel, he added, “contributes greatly to preventing the spread of radical Islamic terrorism,” the understanding of which he is “working to instill gradually in all European countries.”

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