Dutch court orders government to reconsider its halt in supply of F-35 parts to Israel

THE HAGUE, Netherlands (AP) — The highest court in the Netherlands on Friday ordered the Dutch government to reevaluate its currently suspended license for exporting parts for F-35 fighter jets to Israel, in response to concerns they could be used in breaches of international law.

The Supreme Court said an export suspension remains in place while the government reassesses the license. The court’s vice-president, Martijn Polak, said the government now has six weeks to reevaluate the license.

In its ruling, the Supreme Court said an appeals court in The Hague overstepped its authority when it banned the transfer of F-35 parts to Israel in February 2024, citing concerns they could be used in breaches of international law. The ruling led the government to suspend the exports.

The ruling comes as Israel continues its devastating offensive against Hamas in Gaza, brought on by the terror group’s October 7, 2023, onslaught, and at a time of political flux in the Netherlands, with national elections scheduled for October 29 and the current government in caretaker mode.

The case was originally brought in late 2023 by three Dutch rights groups who argued that transferring the F-35 parts makes the Netherlands complicit in possible war crimes being committed by Israel in its war with Hamas. Israel denies committing war crimes in its campaign in Gaza, stating that its operations are aimed at eliminating the terror group and freeing hostages it abducted on October 7.

The district court in The Hague initially rejected the ban, but in February 2024, an appeals panel ordered the Dutch government to halt shipments of F-35 fighter jet parts to Israel, citing a clear risk of violations of international law. The government appealed to the Supreme Court, saying that foreign policy was a matter for the government, not courts.

“The Court of Appeal was not entitled to make its own assessment of whether there is a clear risk of serious violations of international humanitarian law,” the Supreme Court said in a written summary of its ruling. It added that “the Minister must reassess the license based on that criterion.”

The Dutch Foreign Ministry did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

The Netherlands is home to one of three regional warehouses for US-owned F-35 parts. Dutch government lawyers argue that a ban on transfers from the Netherlands would effectively be meaningless, as the United States would deliver the parts anyway.

The war erupted on October 7, 2023, when Hamas-led terrorists murdered some 1,200 people, mostly civilians, and took 251 hostages. Hamas still holds 48 hostages — about 20 of them thought by Israel to still be alive.

The Hamas-run Gaza health ministry says more than 66,000 people in the Strip have been killed or are presumed dead in the fighting so far, though the toll cannot be verified and does not differentiate between civilians and fighters. Israel says it has killed over 22,000 combatants in battle as of August and another 1,600 terrorists inside Israel during the October 7 onslaught.

In a largely symbolic move, Slovenia announced in August that it was banning the import, export and transit of all weapons to and from Israel, calling it the first such move by a European Union member.

Last year, the UK government suspended exports of some weapons to Israel because they could be used to break international law. Spain says it halted arms sales to Israel in October 2023. There are also court cases in France and Belgium around the weapons trade with Israel.