Netherlands asks Israel to explain journalists' killings in Gaza
The Nehterlands will ask Israel for clarification regarding the killing of Anas al-Sharif and other Al-Jazeera journalists in the Gaza Strip on Sunday. The Dutch government wants Israel to provide evidence for its claim that Sharif was a commanding officer for Hamas, a spokesperson for the Ministry of Foreign Affairs told NOS.
“The burden of proof for such allegations lies with Israel. Israel must always act in accordance with international humanitarian law,” the spokesperson said, not mentioning the other alleged human rights violations, such as using starvation as a weapon in the Palestinian territory.
“The Netherlands, like Germany, is requesting clarification on this matter. Caretaker Minister [Caspar] Veldkamp also drew attention today to the increasing violence against journalists in this war during the meeting of EU Ministers,” the spokesperson told the broadcaster.
On Sunday, Israel killed Al-Jazeera reporter Anas al-Sharif. The 28-year-old Palestinian was one of the last journalists still working in Gaza City. He knew that the Israeli Army was after him. He wrote his farewell message back in April and said last month that he expected to be bombed at any moment.
The attack on Al-Sharif is not isolated. Since the war started on 7 October 2023, Israel has killed at least 192 journalists and media workers in Gaza.
Israel accused Al-Sharif of leading a Hamas terrorist cell before his assassination. But the BBC reported that the Palestinian journalist only worked for Hamas’s media team before the current conflict broke out. Experts told the broadcaster that this does not justify the Israeli attack on him. International law states that only active militants are legitimate targets in war. A member of the media team before the war started does not count.
Last month, the Dutch government banned two extremist Israeli Ministers from entering the Netherlands and promised to advocate in the EU to scrap the trade deal with Israel. Other than that, the government has mainly focused on diplomacy to try and convince Israel to stop attacking and starving Gaza.
During a parliamentary debate on the Palestinian’s plight last week, caretaker Minister Veldkamp acknowledged that the measures the Netherlands had taken were not enough, but he refused to commit to more action against Israel. “I’m not going to take measures simply for the sake of national symbolism that have no effect whatsoever,” he said.
As of August 11, Israel has killed 61,499 people, including at least 18,430 children, in the Gaza Strip, Al Jazeera reported based on the latest figures from the Palestinian Health Ministry. That is one out of every 36 people in Gaza dead, and over 90 people killed per day since this war started on October 7, 2023, provoked by a Hamas terrorist attack on Israel, killing 1,137 people. The Gaza death toll does not include the thousands of missing people buried under the rubble.
At least 153,575 people in the Gaza Strip are injured, including at least 40,500 children and babies. 222 people have starved to death in Gaza due to Israel's restricting aid. 101 of them were children and babies. One in ten children in Gaza are malnourished.
Various aid organizations have reported that Israeli soldiers were gunning down Palestinians and aid workers en route to or at food distribution points.
