Dutch state sued over alleged failure to stop Israel's violations of international law

THE HAGUE (Reuters) - Palestinian and Dutch organisations on Thursday filed a legal complaint against the state of the Netherlands over its alleged failure to prevent Israel from committing possible genocide in Gaza and other violations of international law.

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 organisations, Dutch social justice NGOs and Jewish organisations, who do not support the Israeli government.

Israel denies committing war crimes or acts of genocide in its war in the Palestinian territory, which was triggered by the Oct. 7, 2023, Hamas strikes on southern Israel.

Some 1,200 people were killed in the attacks and more than 250 taken hostage back to Gaza, Israel says.

The organisations seek a ban on all Dutch exports to Israel of weapons and goods that could have a military use, but also want judges to order the country to halt all business with Israel related to its presence in the occupied Palestinian territories, the NGOs' lawyer Wout Albers told Reuters.

The case is expected to be heard in November.

Health authorities in Gaza say nearly 42,000 people have been killed so far during Israel's retaliation in Gaza.

Gaza's Health Ministry does not distinguish between civilian and combatants in its casualty reports. Health officials say most of the dead are civilians.

Israel, which says at least a third are fighters, says it makes efforts to reduce harm to civilians as it battles militants, who it says operate from schools and hospitals.

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.

(Reporting by Stephanie van den Berg; Editing by Sharon Singleton)