Dutch court urged to hear case over deadly Israeli Gaza strike

By AFP
September 18, 2019

THE HAGUE: A Dutch court heard preliminary arguments Tuesday in a case about a deadly 2014 Israeli air strike, in which Israeli prime ministerial candidate Benny Gantz is one of two named defendants.

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A Dutch-Palestinian seeking justice for his relatives killed in the air strike urged the court to go ahead with a trial for war crimes. This preliminary hearing to determine whether or not it should try the case started as Israelis go to the polls to elect a new government -- with Gantz a leading candidate for the prime minister's post.

Gantz, 60 was the chief of general staff of the Israeli defence force at the time of the Gaza bombing as part of Operation Protective Edge, in which Ismail Ziada said six of his relatives were killed.

The second defendant is former Israeli air force chief Amir Eshel, 60. "I am seeking justice," Ziada told judges at The Hague´s District Court. He would not get a fair hearing before an Israeli court, he argued, because it "discriminated against Palestinians seeking accountability for war crimes". Ziada´s mother, three brothers, a sister-in-law, a young nephew and a friend were killed in the strike on Bureij refugee camp in Gaza on July 20, 2014.

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