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.



Trump's Syria Policy Dominates Opening of 'Astana 22' Talks

The foreign ministers of Türkiye, Russia and Iran meet in New York in September. (Turkish Foreign Ministry)
The foreign ministers of Türkiye, Russia and Iran meet in New York in September. (Turkish Foreign Ministry)
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Trump's Syria Policy Dominates Opening of 'Astana 22' Talks

The foreign ministers of Türkiye, Russia and Iran meet in New York in September. (Turkish Foreign Ministry)
The foreign ministers of Türkiye, Russia and Iran meet in New York in September. (Turkish Foreign Ministry)

The 22nd round of the Astana peace talks on Syria kicked off in Kazakhstan’s capital on Monday. The talks, held over two days, brought together Syria’s government, opposition and guarantor states Russia, Iran and Türkiye, with observers from Jordan, Iraq, Lebanon and the UN.

The talks, initiated by Russia and supported by Türkiye and Iran, will focus on key issues such as the potential shifts in US policy toward Syria under President-elect Donald Trump, according to Russian presidential envoy to Syria Alexander Lavrentiev.

The talks will also address regional tensions, including the spread of the Gaza conflict into Lebanon, ongoing Israeli airstrikes on Syria and concerns over the risk of the regional conflict expanding further.

Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Mikhail Bogdanov stressed the importance of meeting before the end of the year to set priorities for Syria and the region.

This comes after the UK-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights revealed a “secret” Russian-Syrian agreement to limit the movement of Hezbollah, Iranian forces and Iranian-backed militias in Syria.

As well as the Syrian conflict, the talks will cover issues such as prisoner releases, missing persons, humanitarian conditions, international support for peace efforts, Syria’s reconstruction and the return of refugees.

The current round of talks will focus on the political and military situation around Syria.

Lavrentiev said Russia will do everything possible to prevent the Gaza conflict from spreading to Syria.

Potential changes in US policy toward Syria under Trump are a major topic for discussion among the ceasefire guarantors, he added. Russia will focus on concrete actions and proposals, rather than just statements, especially as expectations grow that Trump will follow through on his pledge to withdraw US troops from Syria.

This move could shift the balance of power and affect the actions of various parties. The withdrawal is a key demand for Russia, Iran and Türkiye, the three guarantor states of the Astana process.