Dutch court upholds war crimes immunity for Israel’s Benny Gantz
Adri Nieuwhof | 7 December 2021 | The Electronic Intifada
▻https://electronicintifada.net/blogs/adri-nieuwhof/dutch-court-upholds-war-crimes-immunity-israels-benny-gantz
Dutch judges ruled on Tuesday that two top Israeli military commanders cannot be sued for killing a Palestinian family in the Gaza Strip.
The appeals court in The Hague decided that the commanders enjoy “functional immunity” because they were acting on behalf of the Israeli state.
The decision is a slap in the face for Ismail Ziada and all Palestinians who once again find their path to justice obstructed.
Speaking to supporters outside the courthouse, Ziada called the decision “shameful” and “cowardly.”
“Today is not easy for me because in Gaza we are subjected to military slaughter and in The Hague we are subjected to a legal slaughter,” Ziada added.
“It is just because of Israel. Nothing else. It is not about justice,” Ziada said of the ruling.
The Palestinian-Dutch citizen has been suing Benny Gantz, Israeli army chief at the time, and Amir Eshel, then air force chief, for the decision to bomb his family’s home during Israel’s 2014 assault on Gaza.
Gantz is currently Israel’s defense minister and deputy prime minister.
Ziada is seeking hundreds of thousands of dollars in damages from the Israeli commanders.
The Israeli attack completely destroyed the three-floor building in al-Bureij refugee camp.
It killed Ziada’s 70-year-old mother Muftia, his brothers Jamil, Yousif and Omar, sister-in-law Bayan, and 12-year-old nephew Shaban, as well as a seventh person visiting the family. (...)