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Dutch Supreme Court Confirms Immunity of Former Israeli Officers over a Deadly 2014 Gaza Airstrike

Israeli Defense Minister Benny Gantz, speaks during a joint press conference with his Greek counterpart Nikos Panagiotopoulos, at the Greek Ministry of Defence, in Athens, Greece, Friday, Nov. 18, 2022. (AP)
Israeli Defense Minister Benny Gantz, speaks during a joint press conference with his Greek counterpart Nikos Panagiotopoulos, at the Greek Ministry of Defence, in Athens, Greece, Friday, Nov. 18, 2022. (AP)
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Dutch Supreme Court Confirms Immunity of Former Israeli Officers over a Deadly 2014 Gaza Airstrike

Israeli Defense Minister Benny Gantz, speaks during a joint press conference with his Greek counterpart Nikos Panagiotopoulos, at the Greek Ministry of Defence, in Athens, Greece, Friday, Nov. 18, 2022. (AP)
Israeli Defense Minister Benny Gantz, speaks during a joint press conference with his Greek counterpart Nikos Panagiotopoulos, at the Greek Ministry of Defence, in Athens, Greece, Friday, Nov. 18, 2022. (AP)

The Dutch Supreme Court on Friday upheld a ruling that a Palestinian man cannot sue Israel's former defense minister and another former senior military officer over their roles in a deadly 2014 Gaza airstrike.

The highest Dutch court confirmed findings by judges in two lower courts that Benny Gantz and former Air Force Commander Amir Eshel are protected from civil proceedings in the Netherlands because they have “functional immunity.”

The long-running case was brought by Ismail Ziada, who lost six members of his family in the airstrike that lawyers for the two Israelis argued was part of an Israeli military operation during the 2014 Gaza conflict.

Ziada wanted the Dutch court to order Gantz and Eshel to pay damages. His legal team argued that the men didn’t have immunity because their actions amounted to war crimes.

In a written reaction, Ziada said he was “disappointed and angered” by the Supreme Court ruling and is considering appealing to the European Court of Human Rights.

“The Court has once again chosen to put politics over people and blocked access to justice. Today’s ruling only deepens the injustice we have suffered,” he added.

Israel’s Justice Ministry told a lower Dutch court that an internal Israeli military investigation determined the airstrike had killed four militants hiding in the house. It said the attack was permissible under international law. Gaza’s Hamas rulers themselves have said that two militants were in the building.

Gantz thanked his country's justice and foreign ministries for leading “the push that led to the dismissal of the lawsuit against me and against the former Air Force Commander Major General (ret.) Amir Eshel in the Netherlands.”

Gantz — who was military chief of staff at the time of the airstrike in Gaza — and Eshel had immunity because they were carrying out Israeli government policies, Dutch courts in The Hague ruled. The Supreme Court agreed in a short written ruling issued Friday.

Gantz is now head of the centrist opposition party National Unity in the Israeli Knesset. Eshel, a former director general of the Defense Ministry, was named this month as a senior fellow at the hawkish Washington-based Foundation for Defense of Democracies.

Gantz welcomed the dismissal of the lawsuit, crediting what he described as Israel’s “strong and independent judicial system” that protects Israeli soldiers and commanders “even in front of international courts.”

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s conservative government is currently pushing to overhaul the country’s judicial system and weaken the Supreme Court, a move that the Israeli security establishment has worried could render the country more vulnerable to international prosecution.

“As the system protects us — it is our duty to protect it and preserve its strength and independence,” Gantz said.

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Arab World

Talks in Baghdad Aim to Halt Attacks on US Embassy

The US Embassy compound in Iraq inside the Green Zone in Baghdad (AFP) 
The US Embassy compound in Iraq inside the Green Zone in Baghdad (AFP) 
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Talks in Baghdad Aim to Halt Attacks on US Embassy

The US Embassy compound in Iraq inside the Green Zone in Baghdad (AFP) 
The US Embassy compound in Iraq inside the Green Zone in Baghdad (AFP) 

A series of meetings held over the past two days inside Baghdad’s fortified Green Zone have produced a preliminary framework aimed at halting attacks on the US Embassy, according to an informed Iraqi source.

Speaking to Asharq Al-Awsat, the source said the discussions brought together representatives of armed factions and a senior Iraqi political figure, resulting in a proposed agreement that has been conveyed to the United States. The proposal includes conditions set by Kataib Hezbollah.

The meetings were intended to “test the positions of both sides” as a step toward broader implementation if the arrangement proves successful in Baghdad, the source added. However, the outcome will depend on the nature of the US response.

Abu Mujahid al-Assaf, a newly appointed security official for Kataib Hezbollah, announced a five-day suspension of attacks on the US Embassy, conditional on several demands. These include an end to Israeli strikes and displacement in Beirut’s southern suburbs.

Additional conditions call for a US commitment not to target residential areas in Baghdad and other provinces, as well as the withdrawal of CIA personnel from the vicinity of the embassy.

The group warned that failure to meet these conditions would prompt a “direct and concentrated” response, with an escalation in attacks after the deadline. It also urged Iraqi authorities to protect diplomatic missions and economic entities of countries not involved in the conflict, excluding what it described as Israeli entities and US occupation forces.

The United States announced it is carrying out strikes against Iran-backed armed groups in Iraq. General Dan Caine, Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, stated during a Pentagon briefing that US AH-64 Apache helicopters are being used in these operations.

Western sources told Asharq Al-Awsat that Washington is not engaged with such proposals and is likely to continue its current approach of responding to attacks targeting diplomatic facilities and US interests in Iraq.

Recent strikes, believed to have been conducted by the United States, targeted locations used by militia leaders for meetings. Kataib Hezbollah acknowledged in statements that several of its security leaders were killed in those attacks.

Meanwhile, French President Emmanuel Macron on Thursday urged Iraqi authorities to prevent attacks on diplomatic missions amid rising regional tensions.

Speaking on the sidelines of a European summit in Brussels, Macron said France has been present in Iraq since 2015 to combat ISIS and support the country’s sovereignty. He confirmed recent contacts with Iraqi Prime Minister Mohammed Shia al-Sudani and Kurdistan Region President Nechirvan Barzani, reaffirming France’s support for Iraq’s territorial integrity.

Macron called on Iraq to act decisively against groups targeting French nationals and facilities, warning that such actions undermine the country’s security and stability.

Baghdad Security Measures

Iraq’s Interior Ministry denied reports circulating on social media claiming that US forces had raided a unit of the Rapid Response Division at Baghdad International Airport.

Spokesperson Colonel Abbas al-Bahadli described the reports as “entirely false” and urged reliance on official sources, warning against the spread of misinformation.

Baghdad Operations Command confirmed that extensive security measures have been implemented across the capital. Lieutenant General Walid al-Tamimi said efforts include securing areas that could be used to launch indirect fire, assuring diplomatic missions that “the situation in Baghdad is stable and secure.”

 

 

Arab World

Israel Says it Struck Syrian Military Post after Attacks on Druze

Demonstrators carry a Syrian flag during a rally commemorating the15th anniversary of the Syrian uprising against the Bashar Assad regime in Daraa, southern Syria, Wednesday, March 18, 2026. (AP Photo/Omar Sanadiki)
Demonstrators carry a Syrian flag during a rally commemorating the15th anniversary of the Syrian uprising against the Bashar Assad regime in Daraa, southern Syria, Wednesday, March 18, 2026. (AP Photo/Omar Sanadiki)
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Israel Says it Struck Syrian Military Post after Attacks on Druze

Demonstrators carry a Syrian flag during a rally commemorating the15th anniversary of the Syrian uprising against the Bashar Assad regime in Daraa, southern Syria, Wednesday, March 18, 2026. (AP Photo/Omar Sanadiki)
Demonstrators carry a Syrian flag during a rally commemorating the15th anniversary of the Syrian uprising against the Bashar Assad regime in Daraa, southern Syria, Wednesday, March 18, 2026. (AP Photo/Omar Sanadiki)

Israel’s military said Friday it struck sites in Syria in response to attacks against the Druze.

The army said it struck infrastructure belonging to Syria in response to attacks on the Druze population in Sweida in southern Syria.

The Israeli military said it targeted a ⁠command center and weapons in military compounds, and said it will not tolerate harm toward the Druze population, adding ⁠it ⁠will continue to operate to defend them and monitor developments in the region.

Arab World

Arms Smuggling Attempt Foiled on Syria-Lebanon Border

Border guards in outskirts of Flita, west of Damascus, foil arms smuggling attempt on Syria-Lebanon border (SANA)
Border guards in outskirts of Flita, west of Damascus, foil arms smuggling attempt on Syria-Lebanon border (SANA)
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Arms Smuggling Attempt Foiled on Syria-Lebanon Border

Border guards in outskirts of Flita, west of Damascus, foil arms smuggling attempt on Syria-Lebanon border (SANA)
Border guards in outskirts of Flita, west of Damascus, foil arms smuggling attempt on Syria-Lebanon border (SANA)

Syria’s defense ministry said border guard forces in the outskirts of Flita area west of Damascus had foiled an attempt to smuggle weapons across the Syrian-Lebanese border after what it described as a tightly executed ambush.

The ministry’s media and communications office said the operation led to the arrest of four people, including two Lebanese nationals, and the seizure of a quantity of weapons and ammunition.

It said the suspects had been referred to the relevant authorities for legal action.

The operation came amid growing tension and anxiety along the Syrian-Lebanese frontier after the Syrian army reinforced its deployment on the border with Lebanon, reviving memories of the Syrian military’s intervention in Lebanon in the 1970s.

Lebanese Foreign Minister Youssef Rajji said in a post on X that, on the sidelines of an emergency consultative meeting held in Riyadh, he had a brief conversation with his Syrian counterpart Asaad al-Shibani, who told him the deployment of Syrian forces on the border with Lebanon was aimed solely at protecting Syrian territory and securing the frontier against any security breach or smuggling activity.

Shibani stressed that Syria did not intend to enter Lebanon or interfere in its internal affairs in any way.

Syria’s border guard forces continue to work to secure the frontier and combat armed groups, drug and weapons smuggling, and other illegal activities that exploit security conditions in some border areas. They are also working to regulate movement along the border and monitor any activity that poses a security threat.

Earlier this month, the Rif Dimashq Media Directorate announced the seizure of a shipment of weapons prepared for smuggling across the Syrian-Lebanese border.

It said the shipment was found in the Nabek area of the Qalamoun region in the Damascus countryside and that the operation was part of efforts to combat organized crime and crack down on smuggling.

The Internal Security Directorate in the Zabadani area of Rif Dimashq also said it had foiled an attempt on Dec. 17 to smuggle a shipment of weapons into Lebanon.