Together with Oxfam Novib and The Rights Forum, PAX filed summary proceedings against the Dutch State for an injunction on the deliveries of F-35 parts to Israel. We are convinced that any delivery of F-35 parts with final destination Israel should be stopped because the Netherlands is contributing to the bombing of Gaza and serious violations of international law of war.
The Court of Appeal in The Hague agreed with us on 12 February. The State had to stop all deliveries with final destination Israel within seven days. Deliveries of F-35 parts nevertheless continue, but now via the United States. To stop this, we filed another summary proceedings. The court in The Hague ruled today and did not rule in our favour. The judge interpreted the Court’s ruling more narrowly, saying it was unclear whether the earlier ruling only covered direct deliveries from the Netherlands or also deliveries via other countries, such as the United States. This ruling means that deliveries via the United States will not be stopped.
‘It is unacceptable that Dutch parts continue to end up in Israeli fighter planes used to bomb Gaza, ‘ says PAX Director Rolien Sasse, ‘This has to stop.’
Every day we see the suffering in Gaza. More than 38,000 Palestinians have been killed, a majority of them women and children. Infrastructure has been destroyed and there is catastrophic famine, partly because aid supplies are being held up. Although we had hoped for more today, more is clear. What is certain is that the Netherlands is supplying parts to Israel via the United States. Oxfam Novib, PAX and The Rights Forum want to counter any complicity in violating international law of war and are considering further steps.
