On Monday, a Dutch court issued an injunction ordering the government to stop sending F-35 jet parts to Israel as the result of a lawsuit filed in December by Oxfam’s Dutch affiliate Pax Nederland and Rights Forum.
The court ruled that political and economic considerations cannot override risks to international law, with one regional warehouse housing US-owned jets being located in The Netherlands.
Amnesty International and Oxfam Novib
Dutch Appeals Court made an unprecedented ruling when they ordered the government to immediately stop exporting parts for F-35 fighter jets to Israel. Oxfam Novib, Pax Nederland and The Rights Forum joined in this lawsuit as petitioners. There is an obvious risk that these parts may be used against international humanitarian law; these groups plan on appealing.
Liesbeth Zegveld, the group’s lead attorney, asserts that the Netherlands has an obligation to prevent serious violations of human rights and war laws; such obligations must take precedence over all other considerations.
Court documents filed in January by two groups asserted that continuing to transport US-owned plane parts from a warehouse on Woensdrecht Air Base implicates the Netherlands in Israeli war crimes, as Israel uses F-35 warplanes in bombing the besieged Gaza Strip, killing more than 15,500 people – most of them civilians.
Pax Nederland
As part of an appeals court decision issued Monday in The Hague, judges upheld a lower court’s ruling to stop the export of F-35 fighter parts by the Dutch government to Israel. Oxfam Novib, PAX and The Rights Forum’s civil complaint asserted that sending US components stored at Woensdrecht Air Base would constitute complicity in possible violations of international humanitarian law by Israel in Gaza.
However, trade minister Geoffrey van Leeuwen announced the Netherlands would not appeal the verdict and continues sending parts as necessary for agreements with other F-35 partners and Israel needing them for defense against other threats apart from Gaza, Breaking Defense reports. This decision marks a notable legal and moral victory as it prioritizes international humanitarian law over political or economic considerations when exporting military exports – Breaking Defense reports.
The Rights Forum
The Rights Forum’s victory marks a landmark for Dutch weapons export policy. An appeals court ruling mandated an immediate stop in exports of F-35 jet parts to Israel due to credible risks that they will be used against international humanitarian law; previously, lower courts had allowed states great freedom in considering political and policy considerations when making export decisions despite knowing it could violate wartime laws.
The Netherlands hosts one of the regional warehouses for US-owned F-35 parts, from which they are distributed to countries that request them including Israel. The Dutch government announced its plan to appeal the ruling at a time when Prime Minister Mark Rutte was traveling to both Israel and Palestine for meetings with Benjamin Netanyahu and Mohammad Shtayyeh respectively. Liesbeth Zegveld from Liesbeth Zegveld’s law firm claimed: “This ruling represents a huge win for human rights!” after her hearing: “This case marks an enormous victory for human rights”.
The Netherlands
The Dutch court recently upheld its ruling that the Netherlands is prohibited from exporting F-35 jet parts to Israel due to potential violations of international law in Gaza. Although not responsible for assembly or production of this US aircraft, spare parts are stored and shipped from regional warehouses located across Europe including one located in The Netherlands – such as that one used by Israel.
The appeals court concluded that political and policy considerations should not trump international law when it came to arms exports in Gaza. Furthermore, they noted that Israeli military’s F-35s likely caused unacceptable civilian casualties during Gaza campaign.
As Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte visits Israel, this ruling comes during his trip. The Dutch government has pledged to appeal the ruling before their Supreme Court and groups such as Oxfam Novib, Amnesty International and The Rights Forum filed their civil suit against it last December.
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