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Israel to Dutch court: Drop case against former IDF chief-of-staff Gantz

Liesbeth Zegveld, the Dutch lawyer handling the case, said it was filed last year and is still in the procedural phase as the court decides whether it has jurisdiction.

By Associated Press

The Israeli Justice Ministry on Monday said the government has asked a Dutch court to dismiss war crimes allegations against Benny Gantz, an ex-military chief who is challenging Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in April elections.

A Dutch-Palestinian man originally from the Gaza Strip is suing Gantz and Israel’s former air force chief, Amir Eshel, for their roles in an airstrike on his family’s home that killed six relatives. The dead included a 72-year-old woman and a 12-year-old child.

The airstrike on the Zeyada family home took place during a 2014 war between Israel and Hamas.

The ministry said Monday that an internal Israeli military investigation determined the airstrike had killed four terrorists, including three family members, hiding in the house. It said the attack was permissible under international law and argued the Dutch court does not have jurisdiction. Gaza’s Hamas rulers themselves have said that two of its fighters were in the building.

“Israel has several mechanisms in place and a robust legal system available to address allegations such as those raised by the plaintiff,” the ministry said.

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“Litigating the lawsuit before a Dutch court would circumvent fundamental and long-recognized principles of state immunity. Accordingly, a motion to summarily dismiss the case has been filed in the Netherlands on behalf of the two former Israeli officials,” it added.

Hassan Zeyada, a Gaza psychologist, said his family had turned to the Dutch court because it does not believe the Israeli military is capable of investigating itself. His brother Ismail, who lives in The Hague, filed the lawsuit.

“The objective is accountability,” Zeyada said. “It’s possible that our case will be a model for all bereaved families to achieve justice and accountability.”

On the campaign trail, Gantz has touted his leadership of the 2014 war as a reason to vote for him. In a campaign ad, he boasted of killing 1,364 terrorists in the fighting.

“If Gantz claims he enjoyed immunity because he was acting on behalf of the state, why is he bragging about destroying Gaza for his personal election campaign?” Zeyada said.

Israel blames Hamas for civilian deaths

Israel has blamed Hamas for the civilian casualties, saying the group hid fighters and launched attacks from residential neighborhoods, using innocent men, women and children as human shields.

Gantz, who left the military in 2015, has burst onto the Israeli political scene and quickly emerged as the top challenger to Netanyahu in the April vote.

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Liesbeth Zegveld, the Dutch lawyer handling the case, said it was filed last year and is still in the procedural phase as the court decides whether it has jurisdiction.

The family “is arguing that they do not have access to an Israeli court, that is highly discriminatory against them, that there are so many obstacles that they never get a ruling,” she said. “So we are arguing that they should be given permission to plead their case before a Dutch court.”

Zegveld said there is no precedent for such a case, but she hopes the Dutch court will agree to take it.