Dutch court to rule on export of F-35 parts to Israel

A court in the Netherlands will rule today on whether to force the Dutch government to stop supplying parts for F-35 fighter jets being used by Israel over the Gaza Strip.

A group of human rights organizations has brought the case, arguing that supplying the parts contributes to alleged violations of international law by Israel in its war with Hamas.

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

These parts “make it possible for real bombs to be dropped on real houses and on real families,” said Michiel Servaes, director of Oxfam Novib, one of the plaintiffs.

Dutch authorities have said it is not clear whether they even have the power to intervene in the deliveries, part of a US-run operation that supplies parts to all F-35 partners.

“On the basis of current information on the deployment of Israeli F-35s, it cannot be established that the F-35s are involved in serious violations of humanitarian law of war,” the government said in a letter to parliament.