The Netherlands is home to one of three European regional depots for American F-35s. Photo: JACK GUEZ/AFP
The Netherlands must stop supplying spare parts for the F-35 fighter jets used by Israel in the Gaza Strip, a Dutch court has ruled.
Upholding a claim by a group of human rights organizations, the Court of Appeal in The Hague has ruled on this matter. there was a “clear risk” that the planes would be involved in “serious violations of the humanitarian law of war.”
Exports of F-35 parts to Israel must stop within seven days, but the government said it would appeal to the Supreme Court. Dutch court, although the export ban will remain.
The F-35s are critical. to ensure that Israel protects itself from “threats in the region, such as from Iran, Yemen, Syria and Lebanon,” The Hague said in a statement.
US-owned F-35 parts are stored in a warehouse in the Netherlands, and then shipped to several partners, including Israel, under existing export agreements. The Netherlands is home to one of three European regional F-35 depots.
Human rights groups in Britain have brought a similar case against the government. Photo: SHUTTERSTOCK/LEX VAN LIESHOUT/EPA-EFE
Oxfam Novib, Pax Nederland and The Rights Forum filed a civil lawsuit against the Netherlands in December, arguing that the authorities needed to reconsider the export license in light of Israeli military activities in the Gaza Strip.
In response, the District Court of The Hague stated that the supply of spare parts is primarily a political decision in which judges should not interfere.
“The considerations that the minister makes are largely political and political in nature. political in nature, and judges should give the minister greater freedom,” the court ruled at the time.
But on Monday the Court of Appeal overturned that decision, saying the Netherlands “must ban the export of military goods if there is a clear risk of serious violations of the humanitarian law of war.”
“Israel does not accept a sufficient account of the impact on the civilian population when carrying out the attacks,” the court said, adding that the attacks in the Gaza Strip “resulted in a disproportionate number of civilian casualties, including thousands of children.”
Human rights lawyers Liesbeth Zegveld (right) and Thomas van der Sommen in court in The Hague Photo: SHUTTSTOCK/LEX VAN LIESHOUT/EPA-EFE
The war was launched in response to the unprecedented attacks on Israel by the Palestinian group Hamas on October 7.
The attacks killed about 1,160 people, mostly civilians, according to AFP, based on official data. Israeli data.
According to AFP, the militants also took about 250 hostages. Israel says about 130 people are still in Gaza, although 29 are believed to be dead.
Israel responded with a relentless offensive in the Gaza Strip that, according to the territory's Hamas-run health ministry, as of Monday, at least 28,340 people, mostly women and children, had been killed.
Other countries are also considering restricting arms sales to Israel while respecting human rights. groups in the United Kingdom are filing a similar lawsuit against the government in an attempt to block arms exports to Israel.
In the United States, Senate Democrats are pushing legislation that would require Joe Biden to seek congressional approval. before giving the green light to arms sales to Israel.
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