We are here again today because people are still being killed every day. People like you and me. People with their whole lives ahead of them. People with families, with children, with parents, with friends. People who are being deliberately killed. The genocide continues. The official death toll in Gaza now stands at over 73,000. The actual figure is likely to be much higher, as many people are buried under the rubble or are missing.
We are here again today because fighter jets containing Dutch components are being used in these killings. We all know this. And yet the decision to supply these components remains in place – not directly to Israel, but via the United States. Essential components, at that. Without Dutch components, the F-35 cannot fly. We are here because, together with a huge number of people, we believe this must stop. International law and the treaties that we, as the Netherlands, have signed, exist for a reason. They are fundamental and must offer protection to all people, including those in Gaza.
We are here again today because we can also see the effects of impunity. We can see the consequences of a lack of action. The violence in Gaza has spread to the rest of the region. We are hearing accounts from our partners in southern Lebanon, where we are seeing tactics similar to those in Gaza. We can see the effects of impunity in the West Bank. That is another reason why we are here today.
It is right, and indeed only logical, that our government has concluded, following our legal case, that direct supplies to Israel must cease. At the same time, however, it is inexplicable that the decision has been taken to continue sending components to Israel via the United States. This is a deliberate choice. And that is why we are here today: to put a stop to this. All deliveries of Dutch F-35 components to Israel must stop. Not only deliveries directly from the Netherlands, but also those via other countries. The Netherlands must not contribute in any way to the genocide in Gaza, and that is why we continue to oppose these Dutch deliveries.
