NGOs want the Netherlands to ban the export and transit of weapons, weapons parts and dual-use items to Israel.
Pro-Palestinian organizations have sued the Dutch state, demanding a halt to arms exports to Israel and accusing the government of failing to prevent what they called a “genocide” in Gaza.
They argue that the Netherlands, a staunch ally of Israel, has a legal obligation to do everything in its power to end violations of international law and the 1948 United Nations Genocide Convention, in the Gaza Strip and the occupied West Bank.
“Today, the plaintiffs are here to hold the Dutch state responsible for its failure to respect international law by failing to intervene against the violations of the rights of the Palestinian people committed by the State of Israel,” Wout said. Albers, attorney representing the coalition. said Friday before a civil court in The Hague.
“Israel is guilty of genocide and apartheid” and “uses Dutch weapons to wage war,” Albers added.
The plaintiffs include a coalition of Dutch and Palestinian organizations working to defend human rights in the Palestinian territory, with three such groups in Palestine.
In October, the groups asked the court to “include a ban on the export and transit of weapons, weapons parts and dual-use items to Israel as well as a ban on all commercial relations and investment companies that contribute to maintaining Israel’s illegal occupation of Israel. Palestinian Territory.”
Reporting from The Hague, Tel Aviv Tribune’s Step Vaessen said that while the court “is considering whether the (Dutch) state should be forced to stop sending weapons, the state says that decision is up to not in court and is a matter of foreign policy.” .
Judge Sonja Hoekstra noted: “It is important to emphasize that the seriousness of the situation in Gaza is not disputed by the Dutch state, nor is the status of the West Bank. »
But she added that it was “about finding out what is legally at stake and what can be expected” from the government.
She acknowledged that it was a “sensitive matter”.
Albers said: “Today is not about judging political choices, but about ensuring fundamental respect for the international rule of law and protection against violations of international law. »
According to Vaessen, the groups’ demands build on previous rulings by the International Court of Justice (ICJ), which ruled earlier this year that the occupation of Palestine was illegal.
On Thursday, the International Criminal Court (ICC) in The Hague issued arrest warrants for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, former Defense Minister Yoav Gallant and Hamas military commander Mohammed Deif for “war crimes and crimes against humanity.”
Dutch Foreign Minister Caspar Veldkamp said his country “respects the independence of the ICC.”
“We will not engage in non-essential contact and will follow through on arrest warrants. We fully respect the Rome Statute of the ICC,” he added.
It is unclear how far the case brought by pro-Palestinian groups will go, as the Supreme Court has rejected several previous attempts to force the Netherlands to meet its obligations to prevent alleged violations of the UN Convention on Human Rights. genocide.
The suit also builds on the outcome of an earlier case in which a court in February ordered the government to block all exports of F-35 fighter jet parts to Israel over concerns that they could be used to violate international law.
Israel’s war in Gaza has killed at least 44,056 Palestinians and injured 104,286 since October 7, 2023. An estimated 1,139 people were killed in Israel during attacks carried out by Hamas that day, and more than 200 were captured.