Dutch courts orders Netherlands to stop delivering F-35 parts delivery to Israel over human rights violations

Representational image. AFP

A Dutch court on Monday ordered the termination of the deliveries of parts for F-35 fighter jets to Israel in its war against Hamas in Gaza.

The order comes after the court withheld an appeal by a human rights organisation that flagged concerns over the supply of F-35 jet parts saying that such a move is allegedly a violation of international law by Israel in its war with Hamas.

“The court orders the State to cease all actual export and transit of F-35 parts with final destination Israel within seven days after service of this judgment,” said the ruling.

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The US-owned F-35 parts are stored at a warehouse in the Netherlands and then shipped to several partners, including Israel, via existing export agreements.

“In doing so, the Netherlands is contributing to serious violations of humanitarian law of war in Gaza,” the rights groups argue.

Last year in December, however, the district court in The Hague ruled that supplying parts of F-35 jets is part of a political decision and advised judges to stay out of the matter.

“The considerations that the minister makes are to a large extent of a political and policy nature and judges should leave the minister a large amount of freedom,” the court ruled at the time.

Meanwhile, Dutch authorities were uncertain about their power to intervene in the deliveries, part of a US-run operation that supplies parts to all F-35 partners.

Government lawyers argued that Israel can easily procure the parts from other countries even when the Netherlands stops supplying them.

The International Court of Justice in The Hague, which rules on disputes between states, has said Israel must do everything possible to prevent genocidal acts in Gaza.

That ruling “strengthens our confidence in a positive ruling in our case”, said PAX Netherlands, one of the rights groups involved in the appeal.

With inputs from AFP