Pro-Palestinian groups sue Dutch gov’t for failing to stop Gaza ‘genocide’
Al Jazeera
The NGOs want the Netherlands to ban the export and transit of weapons, weapon parts, and dual-use items to Israel.
Pro-Palestinian organisations have taken the Dutch state to court, urging a halt to arms exports to Israel and accusing the government of failing to prevent what they termed 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 stop 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 accountable for failing to comply with international law by failing to intervene against violations of the rights of the Palestinian people committed by the state of Israel,” Wout Albers, a lawyer representing the coalition, said at a civil court in The Hague on Friday.
“Israel is guilty of genocide and apartheid” and “is using Dutch weapons to wage war”, Albers added.
The plaintiffs comprise a coalition of Dutch and Palestinian organisations working to defend human rights in the Palestinian territory, with three of the groups in Palestine.
