The Dutch government is urgently appealing a court ruling that would halt global production of the West’s fifth-generation fighter jet.
A court ruling on Monday gave the government a week to stop exporting parts for the F-35 stealth fighter-bomber, which Israel uses in its bombing of the Gaza Strip, where its war has killed more than 28,000 Palestinians, the majority of them women and children.
The Court of Appeal in The Hague cited “a clear risk that Israeli F-35 fighter jets would be used to commit serious violations of international humanitarian law.”
This could, in turn, involve the Netherlands, which manufactures and stocks parts for the F-35.
Israel insists its war is aimed at destroying Hamas, after the Palestinian armed group attacked southern Israel on October 7, killing nearly 1,200 people. But the growing toll of civilian victims; the bombing of schools, refugee camps and hospitals; and the forced displacement of almost the entire population of Gaza have sparked global outrage. South Africa has taken Israel to the International Court of Justice, accusing it of genocidal intent. And this week, the Hague court appeared to share some of the concerns the ICJ is considering.
“Israel does not sufficiently take into account the consequences of its attacks on the civilian population,” the Dutch court said. “This means that the export of F-35 parts from the Netherlands to Israel must be stopped. »
This would have consequences that extend far beyond Israel and the war in Gaza.
The Netherlands is home to one of the world’s three warehouses for F-35 parts, in Woensdrecht. However, the Netherlands argues that Israel cannot be embargoed because the Dutch government exports parts to all countries participating in the F-35 program under a single license, labeled AV009.
This is one of the reasons why the Dutch government refused to suspend deliveries of spare parts to Israel in the first place.
“Based on AV009, it is not possible to exclude a specific country as the destination of deliveries,” the court recognized. “All suppliers from Israel would then have to be excluded, but this would mean that these suppliers would no longer be allowed to supply other countries. »
Three Dutch humanitarian organizations took legal action: Oxfam Novib, PAX Nederland Peace Movement Foundation and The Rights Forum.
The decision, if not overturned on appeal, could have serious implications for the F-35, designed and built by the American company Lockheed Martin Corporation.
The jet’s order backlog stood at more than 150 last October, as NATO members lined up to adopt it as a next-generation aircraft. Countries with aircraft orders worth tens of billions of dollars include the United States, Switzerland, Finland, Denmark and the Czech Republic. Israel is the only country to operate this aircraft in the Eastern Mediterranean. It purchased three squadrons of 24 aircraft each.
Does international law make sense?
The Dutch court’s decision is based on the 1949 Geneva Conventions, the cornerstone of international humanitarian law.
According to experts, this decision is unprecedented, because usually only international courts apply international law.
“Until today, no domestic court has engaged in the process of interpreting the Geneva Conventions,” Maria Gavouneli, professor of international law at the University of Athens, told Tel Aviv Tribune. “At least I can’t think of another case in the last 30 years.”
As wars rage in Gaza and Ukraine, Gavouneli believes the world is going through a period where international law is being applied with increasing vigor.
Last year, the International Criminal Court in The Hague issued an arrest warrant for Russian President Vladimir Putin for kidnapping Ukrainian children from areas occupied by his troops after invading the country in 2022. Putin does not cannot now travel without fear to countries which accept the jurisdiction of the Court. of arrest.
Tel Aviv Tribune previously reported that a British law firm had sued Russian private military company Wagner over its role in the Ukraine war. The goal was to seize Wagner’s assets and cripple a vital Russian military contractor. “We are seeing a growing practice called lawfare – exercising politics by using the judicial system to enforce international law,” Gavouneli said. “Ukraine has done the same, suing Russia for every violation of international law under the sun. »
The Netherlands provided fertile ground for the F-35 trial.
“The Dutch are particularly sensitive to humanitarian issues because they have been burned before,” Lefteris Papagiannakis, who heads the Greek Refugee Council, a legal aid charity, told Tel Aviv Tribune.
“In 2019, the Dutch Supreme Court convicted the Netherlands as being partly responsible for the murder of 350 Bosniaks at a UN camp in Srebrenica in 1995,” Papagiannakis said.
The camp was supposed to be a refuge for refugees, but Dutch peacekeepers handed the men over to army units of Republika Srpska, the Bosnian Serb entity, arguing that they could not protect. The Serbs then killed them.
These sensitivities were aroused after 2020 when the Greek coast guard was accused of pushing refugees back to Turkey without asking them whether they needed international protection – an illegal act under the Geneva Convention relating to the status of refugees. Refugees, which requires countries to consider offering asylum to these people. who ask for it.
The Hague-based Migration Advisory Council, which informs the Dutch government, has suggested that the Netherlands withdraw its contingent from Frontex, the European Union’s border and coast guard service, because they could be involved in a humanitarian crime if it was proven that Frontex had turned a blind eye. be careful of these so-called repressions.
Strained friendships
Israel’s allies are increasingly concerned about the human toll of the war in Gaza.
Britain and the United States have sanctioned Israeli settlers for violent human rights violations against Palestinians in the occupied West Bank.
The European Union’s foreign policy chief suggested Monday that the United States, which supplies arms to Israel, should reduce its military aid. “If you think the death toll is too high, maybe you can do something to reduce it,” Josep Borrell told an informal news conference. He criticized US President Joe Biden for his inaction.
The International Court of Justice last month called on Israel to take appropriate measures to prevent its troops from committing genocide in Gaza, in response to a lawsuit filed by South Africa.
“Israel’s commitment to international law is unwavering,” Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said after the decision. “Our commitment to defending our country and our people is equally unwavering. »
Under the United Nations Charter, countries have the sovereign right to defend themselves if attacked, but the ICJ has previously ruled that this right has limits when it comes to territories under occupation.
South Africa on Tuesday again sought to resort to international law, saying it would ask the ICJ to build on its January ruling and call for additional measures to prevent Israel from storming Rafah.
Some 1.7 million Palestinians have taken refuge there, after being forced to the southernmost part of Gaza by Israeli orders to leave other parts of the besieged strip. Israel, which has already bombed Rafah, has announced its intention to launch a ground offensive there as well.
