Dutch Supreme Court affirms former IDF senior leaders cannot be sued for 2014 Gaza air strike

The Supreme Court in the Netherlands upheld its previous ruling on Friday that former IDF chief and former Defense Minister Benny Gantz cannot be sued for the 2014 Gaza strike against terrorists that unintentionally claimed civilian lives.

Ismail Ziada, who holds Dutch citizenship, lost six family members in the lethal Gaza strike during the Israel-Hamas war, has demanded legal action against senior Israeli leaders, including Gantz and former Israeli Air Force Commander Amir Eshel.

The top Dutch court concluded that Gantz and Eshel have “functional immunity" that protects them from civil proceedings in the Netherlands.

Ziada said he was “disappointed and angered” by the Dutch court’s decision.

“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,” claimed Ziada.

Gantz thanked the Israeli foreign and justice 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.”

Respected British Colonel Richard Kemp, former commander of the British military forces in Afghanistan, has repeatedly stressed that the Israeli army has done more to minimize civilian casualties than any other military in the history of modern warfare. Kemp recently praised the Israel Defense Forces' performance during the Jenin counter-terrorism operation, Operation Home and Garden.

However, the Gaza Strip is a highly challenging battleground because it is densely populated within a very limited territory. In addition, terror groups such as Hamas and Palestinian Islamic Jihad have been known to use their civilians as human shields as part of their propaganda war against the Jewish state. Hiding behind Gazan civilians while targeting Israeli civilians constitutes a double war crime under international law.

The Israeli military launched Operation Protective Edge in 2014 to stop rocket fire against Israeli citizens and destroy tunnels being used to smuggle weapons and militants. The conflict resulted in the deaths of some 2,250 Palestinians, the majority civilians. There were 74 Israeli deaths, most of them IDF soldiers.