Dutch court dismisses bid to ban arms exports to Israel

A Dutch court has thrown out a case by a coalition of pro-Palestinian groups aiming to stop the government from exporting arms to Israel.

“There is no reason to impose a total ban on the export of military and dual-use goods on the state,” says the court in The Hague. “All claims are dismissed.”

The NGOs had argued that Dutch authorities were neglecting to prevent what they termed an Israeli “genocide” in its military campaign in Gaza, where it is fighting against the Hamas terror group.

Israel has dismissed accusations of genocide and insists that it takes extensive steps to prevent civilian casualties.

“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.

The lawyer for the Dutch State, Reimer Veldhuis, told the court the Netherlands had been applying European laws in force for arms exports and urged the court to toss out the case.

The court agreed with the Dutch government in every respect.

“The state has an obligation under international law to assess on a case-by-case basis whether the export of such goods is permissible on the basis of applicable regulations,” the judge says.

The Dutch authorities consider whether the goods exported to Israel could be used to breach international law, the court notes.

“If this risk exists, export is refused. The court finds that the state is fulfilling that obligation.”

Times of Israel Staff contributed to this report.