THE HAGUE – Ten pro-Palestinian NGOs on Friday asked a Dutch court to stop arms exports to Israel and trade with Israeli settlements in occupied Palestinian territories, citing high civilian casualties in Israel’s war in the Gaza Strip.
According to the plaintiffs, the Dutch State, as a signatory to the 1948 Genocide Convention, has a duty to take all reasonable measures at its disposal to prevent genocide.
Lawyer Wout Albers, who represents groups such as the Palestinian rights organizations Al Haq and Al Mezan and the pro-Palestinian Jewish organization Een Ander Joods Geluid, said the Netherlands had not taken the necessary steps by continuing its exports of weapons parts and their military cooperation.
“This has to stop immediately,” he said.
The case, heard by the district court in The Hague, cites a January order from the International Court of Justice to Israel to prevent acts of genocide in Gaza. The plaintiffs cited “an extreme number of civilian deaths and injuries and unprecedented destruction” to argue that a genocide is occurring.
They also cited arrest warrants issued by the International Criminal Court on Thursday against Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his former defense chief for alleged war crimes and crimes against humanity, including persecution, murder and weaponized starvation. of war in Gaza.
Israel says accusations of genocide in its Gaza campaign are baseless and that its only goal is to pursue Hamas and other armed groups that threaten its existence and hide among civilians, something the groups deny. Israel said Thursday’s arrest warrants were shameful and absurd.
Lawyers for the Dutch state asked judges to dismiss the NGOs’ lawsuits, arguing that it is not up to a judge to dictate foreign policy toward Israel.
“The Dutch state does not contribute to Israel’s attacks on the Gaza Strip (…) nor does it maintain settlements” in the occupied Palestinian territories, state lawyer Reimer Veldhuis said in court.
In February, a Dutch court ordered the government to block all exports of F-35 fighter jet parts to Israel over fears they were being used to violate international law during the war in Gaza. The government has appealed that ruling.
The judges have given no indication of how long the hearing of the Palestinian NGOs’ case will take. These cases usually take about two weeks.
The Netherlands said on Thursday, after the arrest warrants were issued, that Foreign Minister Caspar Veldkamp’s visit to Israel had been postponed.