Dutch Prime Minister Dick Schoof has told Al Jazeera that his government “see[s] the risk” of genocide in Gaza, but will leave it to the International Court of Justice to make that determination.
Speaking to Al Jazeera’s diplomatic editor James Bays, Schoof said the Dutch parliament had debated the findings of the UN Independent International Commission of Inquiry this month, which stated that Israel was committing genocide.
“We see the risk of genocide and we act upon that risk,” he said. “But genocide is going to be decided in the International Court of Justice.”
When pressed by Bays about the “glacial” pace of the court to address the situation, in which Israel was committing massacres daily, Schoof replied: “Let’s first state that genocide is a fairly specific word, and that’s also why it’s got to be decided by a court.”
He said the findings by the UN inquiry were shocking, and his government was working to increase pressure on Israel. “You fall silent when you read [the findings], because it’s absolutely horrifying and catastrophic what’s going on,” he said.
