2LT International News

THE HAGUE, Netherlands: The Netherlands’ highest court has ordered the government to reassess its suspended license for exporting F-35 fighter jet components to Israel, amid concerns that the equipment could be used in violations of international law.

The Supreme Court’s ruling, issued this week, keeps the export suspension in place while the government conducts a new review. Vice President Martijn Polak said the government has six weeks to complete the reassessment.

The court found that the Hague Court of Appeal had exceeded its authority when, in February 2024, it ordered a halt to the transfer of F-35 parts to Israel, citing the risk that the jets could be used in breaches of humanitarian law. That decision led the Dutch government to suspend exports and appeal to the Supreme Court, arguing that foreign policy decisions should rest with the executive, not the judiciary.

“The Court of Appeal was not entitled to make its own assessment of whether there is a clear risk of serious violations of international humanitarian law,” the Supreme Court said in a written summary. It ruled that it is up to the foreign minister to make that determination, adding that “the Minister must reassess the license based on that criterion.”

Foreign Minister David van Weel welcomed the decision, saying he would act within the six-week window but suggested that resuming exports was unlikely “given the current situation” in Gaza.

Human rights groups behind the case expressed cautious disappointment. “We haven’t been proven right on all counts, but more importantly, the minister’s mandatory reassessment can only have one outcome: the export ban will remain in place,” said Michiel Servaes, director of Oxfam Novib, one of the organizations that filed the lawsuit.

The case, launched in late 2023 by three Dutch rights groups, argued that allowing the transfer of F-35 components makes the Netherlands complicit in possible war crimes committed during Israel’s military campaign in Gaza. Israel denies committing war crimes and maintains it acts in self-defense against Hamas.

The Netherlands hosts one of three regional warehouses that store U.S.-owned F-35 parts, which can be distributed to partner nations. Dutch government lawyers argued that even if the Netherlands halted shipments, the United States could still supply the parts directly.

The ruling comes amid political turbulence in the Netherlands, with elections scheduled for October 29 and the current administration operating in caretaker mode.

Israel’s ongoing military offensive in Gaza has killed more than 66,200 Palestinians and injured nearly 170,000, according to Gaza’s Health Ministry. While the ministry does not distinguish between civilians and combatants, it says women and children comprise about half of those killed. The ministry is part of the Hamas-run administration, but U.N. agencies and independent analysts consider its figures the most credible available.

The conflict began on October 7, 2023, when Hamas militants and others stormed into Israel, killing roughly 1,200 people — mostly civilians — and taking around 250 hostages. Israel says about 48 hostages remain in Gaza, with around 20 believed to be alive.

Elsewhere in Europe, several governments have taken steps to limit arms transfers to Israel. Slovenia announced in August that it was banning all weapons imports, exports, and transits involving Israel — the first such move by a European Union member state. The United Kingdom suspended some weapons exports last year over similar legal concerns, while Spain halted all arms sales to Israel in October 2023. Legal challenges to arms transfers are also pending in France and Belgium.