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The court noted that there was a clear risk that the parts would be used in “serious violations of international humanitarian law.”
A Dutch court has ordered the government to stop delivering spare parts for F-35 fighter jets used by Israel in its bombing of the Gaza Strip. The order followed an appeal by human rights organizations against a lower court decision that rejected their argument that the supply of parts contributed to alleged violations of international law by Israel.
Last year, human rights organizations in the Netherlands accused the government of complicity in alleged war crimes committed by Israel during its war in Gaza over its exports of spare parts for F-35 fighter jets.
Amnesty International and Oxfam's branches in the Netherlands said the shipments “contribute to serious and widespread violations of humanitarian law by Israel in Gaza.”
In December, a court dismissed the case and said the government should be given greater latitude when deciding political issues related to arms exports.
Dutch authorities said last year that it was unclear whether they had the capacity to interfere with the deliveries, which are part of a US-run operation to supply spare parts to all F-35 partners.
Government lawyers also argued that Israel could easily buy them elsewhere if it did not supply the parts from the country's F-35 warehouse.
However, the Court of Appeal on Monday ordered the Dutch government to block all exports of fighter aircraft parts to Israel within seven days.
“It cannot be denied that there is a clear risk that exported F-35 aircraft parts will be used in serious violations of international humanitarian law,” Judge Bass Boyle said while reading the ruling.
The court added that the parts were likely used in attacks on Gaza, which led to a high number of civilian casualties.
Israel has repeatedly denied allegations of war crimes committed during its military operation in Gaza. However, in January the International Court of Justice called on Israel to be vigilant against any activities in the Strip that could constitute genocide.
The Ministry of Health in the Hamas-controlled Gaza Strip said on Monday that at least 28,340 people had been killed in the besieged enclave during the war, including 164 in the past 24 hours. A total of 67,984 people have been injured since hostilities began on October 7 after Hamas killed about 1,100 people and captured 240 or so in an attack on Israel.
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