Pro-Palestinian groups sue Dutch gov’t for failing to stop Gaza ‘genocide’

The NGOs want nan Netherlands to prohibition nan export and transit of weapons, limb parts, and dual-use items to Israel.

Pro-Palestinian organisations person taken nan Dutch authorities to court, urging a halt to arms exports to Israel and accusing nan authorities of failing to forestall what they termed a “genocide” successful Gaza.

They reason that nan Netherlands, a staunch state of Israel, has a ineligible responsibility to do everything successful its powerfulness to extremity violations of world rule and nan 1948 United Nations Genocide Convention, successful nan Gaza Strip and nan occupied West Bank.

“Today, nan plaintiffs are present to clasp nan Dutch authorities accountable for failing to comply pinch world rule by failing to intervene against violations of nan authorities of nan Palestinian group committed by nan authorities of Israel,” Wout Albers, a lawyer representing nan coalition, said astatine a civilian tribunal successful The Hague connected Friday.

“Israel is blameworthy of genocide and apartheid” and “is utilizing Dutch weapons to costs war”, Albers added.

The plaintiffs comprise a conjugation of Dutch and Palestinian organisations moving to take sides quality authorities successful nan Palestinian territory, pinch 3 of nan groups successful Palestine.

In October, nan groups requested nan tribunal to “include a prohibition connected nan export and transit of weapons, limb parts, and dual-use items to Israel arsenic good arsenic a prohibition connected each Dutch waste and acquisition and finance relations that thief support Israel’s unlawful business of Palestinian territory”.

Reporting from The Hague, Al Jazeera’s Step Vaessen said while nan tribunal is “looking into whether nan [Dutch] authorities should beryllium obliged to extremity sending weapons, nan authorities says that this determination is not up to nan tribunal to determine and is overseas policy”.

Judge Sonja Hoekstra noted: “It is important to underline that nan gravity of nan business successful Gaza is not contested by nan Dutch state, nor is nan position of nan West Bank.”

But she said it was astir “finding retired what is legally successful play and what tin beryllium expected” of nan government.

She acknowledged it was a “sensitive case”.

Albers said, “today is not astir judging governmental choices, but astir ensuring basal respect for nan world norm of rule and protection against violations of world law.”

According to Vaessen, nan groups’ demands build connected erstwhile decisions by nan International Court of Justice (ICJ), which earlier this twelvemonth ruled that nan occupation of Palestine is illegal.

Judge Sonja Hoekstra said it was ‘important to underline that nan gravity of nan business successful Gaza is not contested’ by nan authorities and ‘nor is nan status’ of nan occupied West Bank [Piroschka van de Wouw/Reuters]

On Thursday, nan International Criminal Court (ICC) successful The Hague issued arrest warrants for Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, erstwhile Defence Minister Yoav Gallant and Hamas’s subject commandant Mohammed Deif for alleged “war crimes and crimes against humanity”.

Dutch Foreign Minister Caspar Veldkamp said his state “respects nan independence of nan ICC”.

“We won’t prosecute successful non-essential contacts and we will enactment connected nan apprehension warrants. We afloat comply pinch nan Rome Statute of nan ICC,” he added.

It is unclear really acold nan lawsuit brought by nan pro-Palestinian groups will go, arsenic nan Supreme Court has dismissed respective earlier attempts to clasp nan Netherlands to its obligations to forestall alleged violations of nan Genocide Convention.

This suit besides builds connected nan result of an earlier lawsuit which saw a tribunal ordering nan authorities successful February to artifact each exports of F-35 combatant pitchy parts to Israel complete concerns they were being utilized to break world law.

Israel’s warfare successful Gaza has killed astatine slightest 44,056 Palestinians and wounded 104,286 since October 7, 2023. An estimated 1,139 group were killed successful Israel during nan Hamas-led attacks that day, and much than 200 were taken captive.

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Al Jazeera and news agencies