(DEFENCE SECURITY ASIA) — A court in the Netherlands has ordered the government to stop the delivery of spare parts for F-35 fighter jets used by Israel to bomb the Gaza Strip.
The decision, reached today by the country’s Court of Appeal, states there is a clear risk that the fighter jet spare parts exported by the Netherlands to Israel have been used in “serious violations of international humanitarian law.”
The court mentioned the possibility of Israel using the F-35 fighter jets in attacks on the Gaza Strip that resulted in thousands of civilian deaths.
It also rejected the Dutch government’s argument that it was not necessary to conduct a new review for a new export permit.
The Dutch government, in a statement, said it would appeal to the country’s Supreme Court, arguing that the spare parts for the F-35 fighter jets are crucial for Israel to defend itself against threats in the region from Iran, Yemen, Syria, and Lebanon.
This decision by the Dutch Court of Appeal follows an appeal by Amnesty International and Oxfam against last year’s lower court decision, which rejected their claim that the supply of the spare parts contributed to massive violations of international law by Israel in the Gaza Strip.
Human rights organizations accuse the Dutch government of complicity in violating humanitarian law by continually supplying these fighter jet spare parts to Israel.
The Netherlands hosts one of the regional facilities housing American-made fighter jet spare parts, which are then distributed to other countries upon request.
The facility in the Netherlands has supplied at least one shipment of spare parts to Israel since the outbreak of conflict in the Gaza Strip.
Dutch government lawyers also argued that Israel could easily obtain the F-35 fighter jet spare parts if the European country did not supply them.
Israel was the first export market for the F-35 fighter jet, choosing the aircraft in 2010.
Six years later, in June 2016, the Israeli Air Force received its first F-35A “Adir” and declared its aircraft operationally ready a year after.
The Israeli Air Force has purchased 50 F-35I “Adir” (Mighty) aircraft and has already received 14 of these advanced fighter jets.
The F-35I “Adir” features hardware and software elements designed by Israel, allowing them access to the aircraft’s black box, a privilege not granted to other F-35 operators, including NATO countries that financed the fighter jet’s development program.
The Israeli Air Force’s F-35I “Adir” is a single-seat fighter jet that can be used not only for attack missions but also for intelligence gathering.
It is the only F-35 variant with a special compartment for undetectable weapons.
Despite already having 50 F-35I aircraft, Israel plans to expand its fleet with the acquisition of 25 more fifth-generation fighter jets in the future, enabling it to have three squadrons. — DSA