Dutch gov't looking for ways to continue delivering F-35 parts to Israel after court ban
The Dutch government is looking for ways to bypass the court’s ban on delivering parts for F-35 fighter jets to Israel, NOS reports based on internal documents from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
Last month, the Court of Appeals in The Hague ruled that the Dutch State must stop “any (actual) export and transit of F-35 parts with final destination Israel.” According to the court, there is a real risk of Israel using those fighter jets, kept up and running with parts delivered by the Netherlands, to commit serious violations of humanitarian law of war in the Gaza Strip.
The State went into cassation against the ruling but has to adhere to it until the next ruling. The government is looking for ways around that, NOS found. The Ministry of Defense has asked the Ministry of Foreign Affairs to have its diplomats think of alternative ways to get F-35 parts to Israel by sending them from other countries and not the Netherlands.
Asked about the matter, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs told NOS that the Netherlands has informed the United States about the court ruling and that the F-35 program is investigating “how Israel can maintain access to the necessary F-35 parts. This concerns American goods and will continue outside the Netherlands.”
The statement matches the argument the Dutch government used in court. “The parts would end up in Israel anyway because the American manufacturers could deliver parts directly to Israel.”
According to Professor Galina Cornelisse, an expert in international weapons law affiliated with the VU University Amsterdam, the Dutch government is violating international law by trying to bypass the court ruling and still deliver fighter jet parts to Israel. “If the judge in your country says that supplying parts is contrary to international law, then you must comply,” she told NOS. “It ignores the underlying idea of international law.” What the Netherlands should be doing instead of trying to bypass the ruling is to convince other countries not to deliver parts either, Cornelisse said.
That obligation to try and convince other countries to follow international law is part of several international treaties, added Marten Zwanenburg, professor of military law at the University of Amsterdam and the Dutch Defense Academy. “The ruling itself is quite specific. It concerns the cessation of any actual transit and export of F-35 parts,” Zwanenbug told the broadcaster. “If the final destination is Israel, with the U.S. as an intermediate step, then you could say that following that route and possibly also exploring it would be contrary to the verdict.”
Searching for alternative delivery options violates the basis of the ruling, Jessica Dorsey, assistant professor of international humanitarian law at Utrecht University, agreed. “The core of these treaties is to prevent violations of the laws of war, of which there is now a clear risk,” Dorsey said. “The Minister of Foreign Affairs was first informed of this risk by his own Legal Affairs Directorate, and it was subsequently confirmed by the International Court of Justice and the court in The Hague.” According to Dorsey, the Netherlands is still looking for alternatives paths with this knowledge firmly in hand is “a blow to the international legal system.”
Over 31,341 Palestinians have been killed in Israeli attacks on Gaza since October 7, including about 12,300 children, Al Jazeera reported based on figures from the Health Ministry in Gaza from March 14. That is more than 1 out of every 75 people in Gaza dead. Over 73,143 are hurt, and 8,000 people are missing, many trapped under the rubble. Over half a million people are on the brink of famine in Gaza, UN relief chief Martin Griffiths said on March 8. Children are dying of hunger, and Israel only allowed half the planned aid missions for February, he said.
Israel’s incessant bombing of Gaza was prompted by Hamas terrorist attacks in Israel on October 7. About 1,139 people were killed in those attacks.
