Save the date: Appeal Hearing on Dutch State’s Role in Facilitating Israel’s Genocide and Illegal Occupation

The Hague, 28 July 2025

The Court of Appeal in The Hague has set the date for the appeal hearing in the landmark case brought by a coalition of ten Palestinian and Dutch civil society organisations against the Dutch State. The hearing will take place on Wednesday, 3 September 2025, at 10:00 CEST at the Court of Appeal, at Prins Clauslaan 60, 2595 AJ The Hague.

The organisations challenge the court’s assessment that the Dutch state complies with its international legal obligations to prevent genocide and end support for Israel’s illegal occupation in the Occupied Palestinian Territory (OPT). The coalition seeks to enforce measures including:

• Stopping the export of weapons, weapon components, and dual-use items to Israel, where they can be used in the commission of genocide, war crimes, and crimes against humanity;
• A halt to the exporting of service dogs from the Netherlands to Israel, where there is a  risk of these dogs being used in the commission of atrocity crimes;
• Taking further actions to end all Dutch trade and investment relations that maintain Israel’s unlawful presence in the OPT.

The appeal follows the 13 December 2024 ruling of The Hague District Court, which, despite acknowledging the Dutch State’s international obligations, rejected calls for urgent measures to align government policy with international law. Since then, the situation on the ground has worsened dramatically. In Gaza and the West Bank, Israeli Occupying Forces (IOF) continue to commit atrocity crimes against Palestinians, including genocide, war crimes, forced displacement, and wanton destruction of essential infrastructure.

The coalition argues that the Dutch State’s material support to Israel’s atrocity crimes not only violates its obligations under the Genocide Convention, Geneva Conventions, and the Arms Trade Treaty, but also undermines the credibility and viability of the international legal system, a system in which The Hague plays a central role as the “City of Peace and Justice.”

On behalf of the coalition, lawyer Christiaan Alberdingk Thijm states: “The Netherlands acknowledges that the humanitarian situation in Gaza is catastrophic, but gets no further than calling for a ceasefire. In doing so, it turns a blind eye to the unilateral aggressor: Israel. When famine is used as a weapon, a call for a ceasefire is a serious underestimation of the situation on the ground. Every day we see the images. This must stop. The Netherlands must stop supplying weapons and goods used for human rights violations.”

Media attendance and accreditation

Journalists are invited to attend the hearing. To request registration and permission to make audiovisual materials during the proceedings, please visit the Court of Appeal’s website. 
The coalition urges the media to save the date and follow this critical hearing, which raises profound questions about state responsibility in the face of genocide, occupation, and systemic human rights violations.

For more information about the case, visit: https://www.somo.nl/dutch-state-accused-of-failing-to-prevent-genocide/