Dutch appeals court rejects pro-Palestinian bid to stop arms exports to Israel

THE HAGUE – A Dutch appeals court on Thursday confirmed a decision to throw out a case brought by anti-Israel, pro-Palestinian groups to stop the Netherlands exporting weapons to Israel and trading with Israeli settlements in the West Bank.

The court said it was up to the state to decide what actions to take and not judges.

In a written ruling, the court said it could not order a blanket ban because the pro-Palestinian groups had not shown that the government was routinely failing to consider whether exported arms or dual-use goods would be used to violate rights.

The court in The Hague added that the Dutch government already did enough to discourage companies from working in Palestinian territories controlled by Israel, referring to the West Bank.

The plaintiffs, citing high civilian casualties in Israel’s war against Hamas in the 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 has repeatedly dismissed accusations of genocide and said its Gaza campaign was focused solely on fighting Hamas.

The court said the Netherlands did have that obligation under the Genocide Convention and that there was “a grave risk” that Israel was committing genocide in Gaza.

But it backed a decision by a lower court in December last year. In that case, the judges sided with the Dutch state which had said it continually assesses the risk around exported arms, and that it has refused some exports.

The pro-Palestinian NGOs had said the Netherlands had exported radar systems, parts for F-16 fighter jets and warships, police dogs and cameras and software for surveillance systems.

The Dutch government says that it has halted most arms exports to Israel and only allows parts for defense systems such as the Iron Dome missile defense system.

In October, the Netherlands said it would maintain its ban on exporting parts for F-35 fighter jets to Israel despite a Supreme Court order giving it the option to change its policy.

The Gaza war was triggered on October 7, 2023, when the Palestinian terror group Hamas led an invasion of southern Israel that killed 1,200 people.

The Hamas-run Gaza health ministry says more than 66,000 people in the Strip have been killed or are presumed dead in the fighting so far, though the toll cannot be verified and does not differentiate between civilians and fighters. Israel says it has killed over 22,000 combatants in battle as of August and another 1,600 terrorists inside Israel during the October 7 onslaught.

Israel has said it seeks to minimize civilian fatalities and stresses that Hamas uses Gaza’s civilians as human shields, fighting from civilian areas including homes, hospitals, schools, and mosques.