Dutch court dismisses appeal seeking to halt weapons exports to Israel

THE HAGUE, Netherlands (AP) – A Dutch appeals court on Thursday dismissed an appeal by a group of human rights organizations that filed a lawsuit arguing the Netherlands was violating international law by continuing to sell weapons to Israel.

The Hague Court of Appeal found that although “there is a serious risk that Israel will commit genocide against the Palestinian population in Gaza,” the Dutch government has “considerable discretion” to determine foreign policy and issues of national security.

The group of 10 NGOs were hoping the lawsuit would force the Dutch to stop sending weapons and trained police dogs to Israel and cut economic ties with businesses operating in occupied Palestinian territory.

The activist groups pointed to several emergency orders from another court, the International Court of Justice, that they say confirmed the obligation to stop weapons sales. In January, the top U.N. court said it was plausible Palestinians were being deprived of some rights protected under the Genocide Convention.

A lower court ruled last year that there were sufficient checks already in place to comply with international law. In Thursday’s decision, the court noted that the government had already taken a number of measures, including stopping the exports of some products.

The Dutch government denied it is in violation of the 1948 Genocide Convention, drawn up following World War II. “Every cooperation is cautiously weighed,” government lawyer Reimer Veldhuis said during a hearing last year.

That hearing was held the day after another judicial institution in The Hague, the International Criminal Court, issued arrest warrants for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his former defense chief for alleged war crimes in Gaza.

Netanyahu strongly denies the accusation.

Judges had postponed Thursday’s decision until after the Dutch Supreme Court ruled in a separate case on the export of fighter jet parts to Israel.

Human rights groups filed suit in 2023 to halt the export of F-35 fighter jet parts to Israel, citing a clear risk of violations of international law if they are used in strikes on Gaza.

Last month the Supreme Court ordered the Dutch government to reevaluate its currently suspended license. Foreign Minister David van Weel said at the time that it was unlikely that exports would resume “given the current situation” in Gaza.

A fragile U.S.-brokered ceasefire aims to wind down the war that was triggered by the Hamas-led attack on southern Israel that killed about 1,200 people and saw 251 taken hostage on Oct. 7, 2023.

Israel responded with a sweeping military offensive that has killed more than 68,800 Palestinians in Gaza, according to Gaza’s Health Ministry. The ministry, part of the Hamas-run government and staffed by medical professionals, maintains detailed records viewed as generally reliable by independent experts.