Dutch court blocks sale of jet parts to Israel
A Dutch appeals court on Monday ordered the government to block all exports of F-35 fighter jet parts to Israel over concerns they were being used in violations of international law during Israel's Gaza offensive. It said the state had to comply with the order within seven days and dismissed a request by government lawyers to suspend the order pending an appeal to the Supreme Court. "It is undeniable that there is a clear risk the exported F-35 parts are used in serious violations of international humanitarian law," the court said. The government said it would file an appeal at the Supreme Court, as it said the order had crossed the state's responsibility to formulate its own foreign policy. "The delivery of US F-35 parts to Israel in our view is not unjustified," Trade Minister Geoffrey van Leeuwen said. He said the F-35s were crucial for Israel's security and its ability to protect itself from threats in the region, "for example from Iran, Yemen, Syria and Lebanon". Van Leeuwen said it was too early to say what effect the verdict would have on Israel. "We are part of a big consortium of countries that are also working together with Israel, we will talk to partners how to deal with this." The decision to appeal was unrelated to the "very concerning" situation in Gaza, he added. Israel's massive aerial and ground offensive in the densely populated Gaza Strip has killed more than 28,000 Palestinians, according to the Hamas-run enclave's health authorities, and displaced most of its 2.3 million people from their homes. The case against the Dutch government was brought by several human rights groups, including the Dutch affiliate of Oxfam, last December. "We hope this ruling will strengthen international law in other countries so that the citizens of Gaza are also protected by international law," Oxfam Novib director Michiel Servaes said in a statement. (Reuters)