A Dutch appeals court has ruled against a legal challenge seeking to end the Netherlands’ military exports to Israel, even while acknowledging what it described as a “serious risk” of genocide in Gaza. The decision, issued in The Hague on Thursday, reaffirmed that foreign policy remains a matter for the government rather than the judiciary.

In its written judgment, the court conceded that the situation in Gaza presents a credible risk of grave human rights violations, including genocide. However, it maintained that the state has broad discretion in matters of national security and foreign affairs, stating that the judiciary could not compel the government to halt exports without evidence of a systematic failure to assess potential violations. The ruling also ordered the organisations behind the case to cover legal costs.

Human rights groups expressed dismay at the verdict, arguing that it leaves the Netherlands complicit in the ongoing atrocities in Gaza. They had urged the government to suspend all military exports and cut economic ties with firms operating in occupied territories, citing an International Court of Justice directive from January 2024 calling on Israel to prevent genocidal acts. Despite mounting international scrutiny, the court’s decision reinforces a pattern of political deference to governments supplying arms to Israel’s war campaign, which has already claimed tens of thousands of lives and left many more wounded and displaced.