Thousands of people have
staged a demonstration in The Hague in protest at an official visit by
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to the Netherlands, saying he
should be brought to justice for his crimes.
On Tuesday,
the protesters carried Netanyahu’s mugshots and signs that read “Bring
Bibi Netanyahu to International Criminal Court” as the Israeli leader
arrived in the Netherlands and met with senior Dutch officials.
Chants such as “Free free Palestine, boycott boycott Israel” could also be heard during the demonstration.
“I’m
standing here because Netanyahu is visiting the Netherlands. I’m
standing in The Hague and we think that rather than him being received
by the parliament, he should be put on trial in the Peace Palace of the
UN tribunal,” a protester said in English.
Some of the protesters also criticized local authorities for attempting to cancel the anti-Netanyahu gathering.
“This
demonstration is not only against Netanyahu, but it’s also for our
right to demonstrate, at the places where we want, where it’s happening,
because the Zionists, they always get the permission to stand in front
of the parliament,” another demonstrator commented.
The rally was
originally planned to be staged outside the Dutch parliament building in
The Hague downtown, but authorities later did not allow the protesters
to proceed.
The demonstration came a day after former Dutch prime
minister Dries Van Agt reacted angrily to Netanyahu’s two-day visit to
the Netherland, calling on government officials to “send him right away
to the International Criminal Court.” Former Dutch Prime Minister Dries Van Agt Speaking
in an interview with the NPO1 public broadcaster on Monday, Van Agt
described the 66-year-old Chairman of Israel’s right-wing Likud
political party as a “war criminal,” arguing that the Tel Aviv regime
has been committing a crime under the ICC’s Rome Statute.
“The
occupation and expansion… building of settlements, of occupied
territory, this is according to the Rome Statute, which is… the setup…
the statute on which the international criminal court is based, in so
many words, a war crime,” he said.
“So why should we
receive someone who continues with such things, we could have sent him
right away to the International Criminal Court, that would have been
better,” the 85-year-old politician and activist, known for his vocal
support of the Palestinian cause, the ex-PM pointed out.
The Rome
Statute, which went into effect in July 2002, outlines the four grave
international crimes, namely crimes of aggression, war crimes, genocide
and crimes against humanity. The statute forms one of the foundations of
The Hague-based International Criminal Court.
Israel signed the treaty in December 2000, but “unsigned” it two years later by means of the US lobby.
One
of the primary reasons behind the decision was a clause in the
document, which allowed the prosecution of the Israeli regime over war
crimes for “transfer of parts of the civilian population of an occupying
power into occupied territory.”
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