(CLO) On November 22, 10 pro-Palestinian non-governmental organizations asked a Dutch court to order a halt to arms exports to Israel and transactions with Israeli settlements in the occupied Palestinian territories, citing high civilian casualties in the Israel-Hamas conflict in the Gaza Strip.
According to the plaintiff, as a signatory to the 1948 Genocide Convention, the Dutch state is obliged to take all reasonable measures within its power to prevent genocide.
Lawyer Wout Albers, representing pro-Palestinian groups, said the Netherlands had failed to take the necessary measures by continuing to export weapons parts and military cooperation with Israel. “This must stop immediately,” he said.
The case, heard at the district court in The Hague, cited an order from the International Court of Justice to Israel in January to stop acts of genocide in Gaza.
Protest outside the court on the day of the hearing of a lawsuit by non-governmental organizations against the Dutch state in The Hague, Netherlands, November 22. Photo: Reuters
The plaintiffs cited "massive numbers of civilian deaths and injuries and unprecedented devastation" to argue that genocide was occurring.
Ahmed Abofoul, a legal adviser to one of the NGOs, said 80 of his relatives had been killed, including many children, noting that as a Dutch citizen, the state was using his tax money to send weapons to Israel.
NGOs also cited arrest warrants issued by the International Criminal Court (ICC) on November 21 for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his former Israeli defense minister on charges of war crimes and crimes against humanity.
Lawyers for the Dutch state have asked the judge to dismiss the NGOs' request, arguing that the judge has no authority to decide foreign policy towards Israel.
Dutch state lawyer Reimer Veldhuis told the court that "the Dutch state does not contribute to Israel's attacks on the Gaza Strip (...) or maintain settlements" in the occupied Palestinian territories.
The court will rule on a request by pro-Palestinian NGOs on December 13. Meanwhile, after the ICC issued an arrest warrant for the Israeli prime minister, the Netherlands said on November 21 that Foreign Minister Caspar Veldkamp's visit to Israel had been postponed.
Ngoc Anh (according to Reuters)
Source: https://www.congluan.vn/toa-an-ha-lan-duoc-yeu-cau-ra-lenh-dung-xuat-khau-vu-khi-sang-israel-post322578.html
Comment (0)