Dutch state sued over failure to stop Israel's alleged violations of international law
It is unclear how far the case will go against one of Israel's closest allies.
Palestinian and Dutch organizations on Thursday filed a legal complaint against the state of the Netherlands over its alleged failure to prevent Israel from violating international law in Gaza.
The case argues that the Netherlands has a legal obligation to do everything in its power to stop alleged violations of international law and the 1948 Genocide Convention by Israel.
It is backed by Palestinian human rights organizations, Dutch social justice NGOs, and Jewish organizations that do not support the Israeli government.
The organizations seek a ban on all Dutch exports to Israel of weapons and goods that could have military use, but also want judges to order the country to halt all business with Israel related to its presence in the Palestinian territories, the NGOs' lawyer Wout Albers told Reuters.
The case is expected to be heard in November.
Unclear how far case will go
It is unclear how far the case will go, as the Dutch Supreme Court has dismissed several earlier attempts to hold the Netherlands to its obligations to prevent alleged violations of the Genocide Convention.
The Netherlands has historically been a close political ally of Israel. The legal case builds on the outcome of an earlier case against the Dutch state where a court in February ordered the government to block all exports of F-35 fighter jet parts to Israel over concerns they were being used to violate international law.
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