The Dutch court issued a ruling on Monday to halt all export operations of F-35 aircraft parts to Israel within a week from now, following a request submitted by human rights organizations.
The Court of Appeal in The Hague explained that this decision came after a request from human rights organizations, ordering the Netherlands to stop supplying spare parts for aircraft used by Israel in the Gaza Strip.
The court stated that this decision must be implemented within 7 days from the date of issuance.
Human rights organizations, including Oxfam, filed a request with the court, confirming that supplying Israel with these parts contributes to violations of international law in its war on the Strip.
The court clarified that maintaining good relations with the United States and Israel is not a good justification for continuing to export spare parts.
The Dutch government announced that it would appeal the decision of the Court of Appeal to the country’s Supreme Court, considering that the F-35 aircraft is essential for Israel to protect itself from “threats in the region from Iran, Yemen, Syria, and Lebanon, for example,” as reported by Reuters.
Warehouses in the Netherlands
The issue concerns spare parts owned by the United States, which are stored in the Netherlands before being sent to partner countries, including Israel, under export agreements.
Thus, the court overturned a previous ruling issued by the lower court in this case, which had deemed the decision to supply these parts primarily political.
The export permit for these parts was granted in 2016 for an indefinite period; however, according to the Court of Appeal, the situation has drastically changed since then, and that cannot be ignored.
The court ruled that “the fact that the permit was granted for an unspecified period does not mean that the state can turn a blind eye to subsequent events.”
The Netherlands hosts one of several regional warehouses for F-35 aircraft parts owned by the United States, which are used to distribute spare parts to requesting countries, including Israel.
At least one shipment has been sent to Israel since the attacks of October 7th last year.
