Dutch court rejects bid to halt arms exports to Israel as Gaza war rages
Al Jazeera
Court says ‘all claims dismissed’ after rights groups file lawsuit to stop arms sales, citing genocide convention.
A Dutch court has rejected a bid by 10 pro-Palestinian NGOs to stop the Netherlands from exporting weapons to Israel and trading with illegal Israeli settlements in the occupied Palestinian territory.
The Hague district court stressed on Friday that the state has some leeway in its policies and courts should not rush to step in.
“The interim relief court finds that there is no reason to impose a total ban on the export of military and dual-use goods on the state,” it said in a statement. “All claims are dismissed.”
The plaintiffs, citing high civilian casualties in Israel’s assault in the besieged Gaza Strip, had argued that 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.
“Israel is guilty of genocide and apartheid” and “is using Dutch weapons to wage war”, said Wout Albers, a lawyer representing the NGOs, during the hearings.
