Salaam - Concerns Raised Over Dutch Role in Supplying Dogs to Israeli Forces
As-salamu alaykum. There are serious claims that purchases by the Israeli military, including trained dogs, will be a major factor when the Dutch court of appeal decides on Thursday about whether the Netherlands failed to help prevent genocide in Gaza.
The state faces accusations of breaching the 1948 Genocide Convention by continuing arms and related exports to Israel and not fully acting on a 2024 advisory opinion from the International Court of Justice that advised countries to stop trade linked to the occupied Palestinian territories.
Lydia de Leeuw, who leads strategic litigation at Somo - an Amsterdam research centre involved in the case - said there is considerable evidence that dogs have been used by the Israeli army in ways that may amount to war crimes.
"The Israeli army is using dogs to intimidate, attack and torture Palestinians in Gaza and the West Bank and in detention centres in Israel," she told reporters. In July 2024, the UN human rights chief Volker Türk cited "the release of dogs on detainees" in a critical report about the ill-treatment and torture of Palestinian detainees.
That month, a 24-year-old Palestinian man with Down syndrome, Muhammed Bahar, was reportedly mauled by an Israeli army dog in Gaza. Witnesses say soldiers prevented his family from assisting him and left him to die after providing minimal medical help.
Using public sources and statements from the Israeli military, Ms de Leeuw said it appears the Netherlands has been an important supplier of dogs to the Israeli army.
A Somo investigation published in April found that a Dutch dog-breeding company, Four Winds K9, was given legal support by Israeli authorities in 2016 after a Dutch human rights lawyer sued over a claim by a 16-year-old Palestinian from the West Bank. Hamzeh Hashem had suffered severe injuries in 2014 when an Israeli army dog was instructed to bite him; Four Winds later settled the claim in 2018 for an undisclosed amount.
Leaked emails reviewed by Somo suggested the Israeli Defence Ministry thought it was "very important to maintain the relationship" with Four Winds K9 because it had "been a major supplier of dogs to the Oketz unit for about 25 years." Oketz is Israel’s specialist canine unit; it says attack dogs are used only in anti-terror operations, though human rights groups report they are also deployed to frighten civilians. The military is also reported to use sniffer dogs in Gaza.
Dog exports from the Netherlands to Israel have reportedly continued since the 2016 lawsuit. In January 2024, the Israeli Defence Ministry announced a large procurement from regular suppliers of trained dogs in the Netherlands and Germany - mostly Belgian Malinois, a common police breed. Somo also found that between October 2023 and February 2025, 100 of 110 veterinary certificates issued by the Netherlands Food and Consumer Product Safety Authority were for Four Winds K9 for dogs sold to the Israeli army.
A central legal question in the genocide case is whether courts can review foreign policy decisions. In December, The Hague district court that dismissed the case said it must show restraint when assessing foreign policy and that the state met its obligations by reviewing export licences individually and promoting a discouragement policy for investments in the occupied territories. The Netherlands has stated it will work on legislation to follow the ICJ advisory opinion.
Plaintiffs hope the court of appeal will explain how the genocide convention should be applied in national practice. "I expect the court of appeal will translate these big international legal obligations to what state practice should look like," Ms de Leeuw said.
Other countries, like the US, have argued courts should not intervene in foreign policy decisions. If The Hague court reaches the same view, Ms de Leeuw warned it would be a serious problem: leaving decisions about genocide prevention entirely to the executive would, she said, create a crisis for the legal system.
Israel denies committing genocide in Gaza. Accusations have been made by UN experts, international human rights authorities, and some European politicians.
Jazakum Allah khair for reading.
https://www.thenationalnews.co