Dutch court bans the export of US F-35 parts to Israel under international law
A Dutch court issued a ruling banning the export of US-made F-35 parts to Israel, marking the first case of application of international law to Palestine.
The court said, "It is an undeniable fact that there is a clear risk that exported F-35 parts will be used to seriously violate international humanitarian law," and responded to the 'export ban' lawsuit filed by human rights groups, including the Dutch branch of Oxfam, against the Dutch government. The case was ruled in favor on the 12th.
The Dutch government announced that it would appeal to the Supreme Court and argued that “it is the state, not the courts, that establishes foreign policy,” and that “there is no need to issue a new license for arms exports.”
The Dutch court's ruling is expected to have a direct impact on global warfare beyond European countries, saying international law guarantees the humanitarian impact of war.
On the 12th, the Dutch Court of Appeal ordered the government to block trade in which parts of the U.S. F-35 fighter jet were being stored and exported from the Netherlands, based on concerns that F-35 fighter parts were being used to violate international law during the Gaza War. did.
The court ruling said, “It is an undeniable fact that there is a clear risk that exported F-35 parts will be used to seriously violate international humanitarian law,” and that human rights groups, including Oxfam Netherlands branch, had won a lawsuit against the Netherlands over exports. Reuters reported on the 12th that the ruling was made.
Judge Bas Boele ruled that the Dutch government may export F-35 parts to Israel in the future, but only under the strict condition that they not be used for military operations in the Gaza Strip.
The lawsuit, which took place in a Dutch court, acknowledged in the first trial ruling in December last year that “the F-35 may have contributed to violations of the laws of war,” but did not order the Dutch government to stop exports.
The trial court ruled that arms exports were within the government’s jurisdiction, saying “the state has considerable freedom to consider political and policy issues to decide on arms exports.”
In response to the first trial ruling, the appeals court changed its ruling, saying that “such concerns do not outweigh the clear risk of violating international law” regarding “possible violations of the laws of war,” and that the government’s arms export rights should be controlled in accordance with international law.
The appeals court ruled that “the use of U.S. F-35 fighter jets in attacks on the Gaza Strip likely resulted in unacceptable civilian casualties,” and ruled that “there is no need to newly verify arms export licenses” raised by the Dutch government. was destroyed.
“We hope that this ruling will strengthen international law in other countries and ensure that the citizens of Gaza are also protected by international law,” Michel Servas, director of Oxfam Noviv, which filed the lawsuit, said in a statement.
Dutch Trade Minister Geoffrey van Leeuwen said: “Fighters are very important to Israel’s security and it is too early to say whether the ban on exports of parts from our country will have a concrete impact on overall supplies to Israel. “We are part of a large consortium made up of companies. We will discuss how to deal with it with our partners,” he said.
In the Netherlands, weapons depots for storing U.S.-owned F-35 parts are divided into several locations, and since October 7, these warehouses have been distributed to countries requesting F-35 parts at least once, including Israel.
European Union (EU) High Representative for Foreign Policy Josep Borrell mentioned this ruling on the 12th and quietly urged the United States to stop supplying weapons to Israel due to the high number of civilian casualties in the Gaza Strip, Reuters reported.
“If we believe that too many people are being killed, we should provide less weapons to prevent that many people from being killed,” Borrell told reporters after a meeting of EU development aid ministers in Brussels. “If society believes that this is a massacre and that too many people are being killed, maybe we should think about providing weapons,” he said.
Representative Borrell, a Spanish politician, went on to say, “It is contradictory for Israel to declare that it is killing too many civilians in the Gaza Strip but not take concrete measures to stop the massacre.” He added, “Evacuate? Where? To the moon? Where are you going to evacuate these people? “?” he said.
F-35 manufacturer Lockheed Martin said in a statement that it was “assessing the impact of the Dutch court ruling on its supply chain” and “stands ready to support the U.S. government and its allies as needed.”