Former prosecutor Fatou Bensouda of the International Criminal Court (ICC) in The Hague said that Israel intimidated and pressured her while she was working and living in the Dutch city. She reported the incident to the Dutch government and authorities, but they did little to nothing, the Gambian former ICC prosecutor told Al Jazeera in an interview.
It started shortly after she started investigating Israel’s actions in Palestine in 2015. Two men showed up at her home in The Hague and gave her an envelope with $500 inside, saying it was from someone she had helped. She reported the incident to the ICC and the Dutch authorities.
“The assessment that was made was that it was to show me that they know where I live, that was the purpose,” Bensouda told Al Jazeera. She said the police concluded that the car the men were using had been rented from the airport earlier in the day and that their telephone numbers were Israeli. “I do not think the Dutch authorities did more.”
She said the incident left her feeling not intimidated, but definitely insecure. “I, of course, expected more support,” Bensouda said. “When it came to support from the Dutch government, I’m not aware of anything extra that was done to support me at the time.”
Europe should do more but they really are not. Their only real action after 2 and a half years of genocide is sanctioning a bunch of Israeli colonists in the West Bank. But no sanctions against Israel as a whole.
Israel cannot do what they do without European support. Here is Germany arresting a couple at gunpoint for trying to stop Europe sending weapons to Israel https://lemmy.world/post/47488982
Another key factor is the European logistics which allow American weapons transports to Israel. Once again Germany is the largest offender here but others are also complicit.
Europe is also integrating Israeli weapons as their main choice instead of European alternatives. Israeli Spike missiles and PULS launchers are chosen as the new weapons standard by many European countries recently. Germany is also working to convert car factories to Iron Dome missile production.
That’s not true, there are definitely sanctions on weapons exports to Israel by several countries in EU.
I agree, and yes Germany is probably by far the most backwards country in EU in this regard. Pretty ironic since it was their concentration camps that were responsible for the creation of Israel, and now they support Israel doing the same thing against the Palestinians they did during WW2 to the Jews. Germany in particular really need to get their act together here.
We have been, but I don’t think that’s much of a thing anymore. But yes we have also bought Israeli weapons to help Ukraine.
But Israel is NOT part of for instance the EU SAFE program, which for instance Canada and Japan are both members of.
I 100% agree that if Israeli weapons are still planned as part of EU defense, that absolutely needs to be stopped.
Israel is a terrorist state as I’ve mentioned before, and I agree that any cooperation with Israel is too much.
We are not here yet, but I think we are getting there.
Once again, only in name really. Those countries are sending their weapons to NATO supply depots and “handing them over” to America, after which America gives them to Israel. Using a legal loophole. Judges in The Netherlands even said this loophole is completely fine.
Another recent example was Belgium intercepting an Israeli arms shipment which simply used wrong labelling only after NGO activists tipped off the authorities https://aircargoweek.com/arms-shipments-intercepted-in-belgium/ . Many of these shipments happened and they simply turned a blind eye until they no longer could.
Currently absolutely not. Once again, Europe has platitudes and very small sanctions which they love to point to, but nothing of significant consequences.