Dutch Supreme Court advised to uphold export ban of F-35 components to Israel

The Supreme Court of the Netherlands was advised on Friday by its advocate general to uphold a ruling saying the Dutch state must put an end to the export to Israel of parts for F-35 fighter jets.

In February, the Hague Court of Appeal ordered the government to block those exports over concerns they were being used to violate international law during the war in Gaza, prompting the government to seek advice from the Supreme Court.

The Netherlands houses one of several regional warehouses of U.S.-owned F-35 parts, which are distributed to countries that request them, including Israel in at least one shipment since Oct. 7, 2023.

"According to the advocate general (of the Supreme Court), the Court of Appeal was justified in finding that there is a clear risk that Israel's F-35 fighter jets are being used to commit serious violations of international humanitarian law in the Gaza Strip," the court's adviser said.

The Supreme Court said it would rule on the appeal as soon as possible, without giving a specific date.

Human rights groups that brought the case against the state, including the Dutch arm of the charity Oxfam, welcomed the advice to the court.

"The government should wait no longer and change course," they said in a statement.

"The complicity in the atrocious violence in Gaza needs to stop as quickly as possible."

Israel denies committing war crimes in its attacks on Gaza, which followed a cross-border raid by Hamas-led militants on southern Israel on Oct. 7, 2023, in which some 1,200 people were killed and some 250 were taken hostage, according to Israel.

Israel's campaign in Gaza has killed nearly 44,200 people and displaced nearly all the enclave's population at least once, Gaza officials say. Vast swathes of the territory are in ruins.