The Hague Group urges global community to move beyond rhetoric to halt Israel’s genocide in Gaza

The Hague Group has urged its member countries to halt dealings with Israel in arms, finance, and energy as part of an effort to isolate the country and deter what it described as genocide in Gaza, and it called on states to shift from rhetoric to action by enforcing international law.

Meeting on the sidelines of the 80th United Nations General Assembly in New York, the coalition of more than thirty governments sought to consolidate existing measures into a coordinated strategy, and it emphasised that accountability must be pursued through courts, ports, contracts, factories, and financial systems.

The group recalled that one year had passed since the UN General Assembly adopted Resolution A/RES/ES-10/24, which demanded Israel’s compliance with the International Court of Justice advisory opinion requiring the cessation of its presence in the Occupied Palestinian Territory, and it accused Israel of defying the General Assembly, ignoring the Court, and intensifying its actions.

The Hague Group, formed in January with members from Africa, Asia, Europe, and the Americas, outlined that several states had already implemented national legislation and executive policies to halt arms transfers, block weapons shipments, suspend procurement from Israeli firms, cease energy exports, and pursue accountability through legal processes.

It argued that collective enforcement of these measures not only strengthens the global response to the crisis but also sets a precedent for other governments to fulfil their obligations under international law.

Chaired by Colombia and South Africa, the group insisted that the choice before governments lies between complicity and compliance, and it pledged to continue rallying states to adopt coordinated legal and diplomatic measures in defence of international law and in solidarity with the people of Palestine.