Netherlands will continue to deliver F-35 spare parts to Israel despite concerns

The Netherlands will continue to supply spare parts for the F-35 fighter jets to Israel, outgoing Ministers Liesje Schreinemacher (Foreign Trade) and Hanke Bruins Slot (Foreign Affairs) wrote to parliament. There is no evidence that Israeli F-35s are involved in violations of the laws of war, they said.

Earlier this month, NRC reported that since the outbreak of the war between Israel and Hamas on October 7, the Netherlands has sent parts for F-35 fighter jets to Israel from a logistics center at Woensdrecht air base. Foreign Affairs lawyers raised concerns about this.

According to the Ministers, the transit of the American parts remains necessary because Israel is also threatened by Iran, among others. “Stopping the supply of F-35 parts to Israel would impose restrictions on Israel’s ability to deploy the aircraft in the context of these regional threats,” the Ministers said.

Israel is intensively bombing the Gaza Strip. More than 14,000 people have been killed, including over 5,000 children. Human rights organizations have repeatedly warned that Israel is violating the laws of war in Gaza. The Dutch embassy in Tel Aviv also raised concerns about this. Oxfam Novib, Amnesty International, PAX, and The Rights Forum are suing the Dutch State over its continued supply of arms to Israel amid the slaughter of Palestinians.

However, the Dutch government says that it has no evidence that the Israeli F-35s are involved in the intensive bombings. “Based on current information about the Isrealy F-35 deployment, it cannot be determined that the F-35s are involved in serious violations of international humanitarian law.”

Parliament will debate the war in Gaza with the Ministers on Thursday afternoon. The transit of fighter jet parts will be part of the discussion. Some parties want the transit to stop.

Stopping deliveries could have undesirable consequences, the MInisters said. It could lead to, among other things, the position of the logistics center in Woensdrecht being called into question. It is also “not clear at the moment” whether the Netherlands “has the option to intervene in the onward supply to Israel” in the context of agreements on the F-35 program. That is still being investigated.