Dutch court quashes bid by activists to ban arms exports to Israel over Gaza war

A Dutch court threw out a case brought by pro-Palestinian, anti-Israel activists seeking to force the Netherlands to halt trade and weapons exports to Israel over the war against Hamas in Gaza.

A group of 10 organizations had accused the Dutch state of doing too little to prevent what they described as “genocide” in Gaza with a “clearly unlawful” foreign policy toward Israel. Israel has denied all accusations of genocide.

The NGOs urged judges to impose a blanket ban on weapons exports to Israel, a ban on exporting military dogs, and a ban on trading in “occupied territories.”

The Appeals Court in The Hague dismisses all the grounds for appeal made by the organizations and orders them to pay legal costs.

“While it is plausible that there is a risk of genocide and serious human rights violations, it is not, in principle, up to the court to prescribe to the State what measures must be taken to prevent this,” says the court in a statement.

The court also notes that the Dutch state had already taken a number of measures.

For example, authorities do not grant an export license for military goods if there is a risk they will be deployed in Gaza, the court says.

During hearings, lawyers for the government had denied Dutch foreign policy toward Israel was unlawful and stressed authorities always reviewed on a case-by-case basis whether to grant export licenses.

The Appeals Court in The Hague was originally scheduled to render its verdict on October 8 but judges decided to delay until a Supreme Court ruling in a similar case.

In that verdict, the Supreme Court said it was up to the Dutch government to decide whether it would export parts used in Israeli F-35 fighter jets in Gaza.

Following the Supreme Court ruling, the Dutch government decided to keep in place its existing ban on shipping such parts.