Today we were at The Hague Court of Appeal for a hearing in the F-35 legal case. As a result of our legal action, the Netherlands has now stopped supplying F-35 parts to Israel for two and a half years. Nevertheless, these parts are still finding their way to Israel, albeit now via the US. We demand that the Netherlands fully comply with the export ban and ensure that no F-35 parts end up in Israel at all. Until that happens, Israel will continue to bomb Gaza with F-35 fighter jets containing Dutch parts, killing Palestinians and destroying homes and infrastructure.
This is crucial, because without Dutch components, these fighter jets cannot fly. It is therefore incomprehensible that the Netherlands chooses to continue supplying these components. We are doing everything we can to put a stop to this. Because the genocide continues, and the Netherlands should not be involved in it in any way whatsoever.
The Court of Appeal ruled today that, for the time being, no classified documents will be submitted by the state tomorrow. With this decision by the judges, we can now refocus on what really matters: stopping the export of F-35s to Israel. This additional hearing on classified documents has resulted in a costly loss of time and has distracted from the substance of the case. ‘They really need to focus a bit on what this is all about,’ said Liesbeth Zegveld, a lawyer involved in the case.
Later this year, there will be a hearing focusing on the substance of the case: the state must also prevent F-35 components from ending up in Israel via other countries, such as the US.
