The Hague Court of Appeals yesterday ruled the Netherlands government must, within seven days, halt the supply to Israel of US-owned parts for Lockheed Martin F-35 combat aircraft, reported Globes. With the ruling, the court accepted a petition brought against the Netherlands government by human rights organizations, claiming that supplying the parts could implicate the Netherlands in war crimes.
In a statement on the ruling that overturned a judgment by a lower court, the Dutch appeals court ruled: “There is a clear risk that the F-35 fighter jets are used by Israel to commit serious violations of humanitarian law in the Gaza Strip.”
Lockheed Martin Israel, the local division of the US aerospace giant that manufactures the F-35, says it is evaluating the impact of a Dutch court decision ruling that the Netherlands must stop delivering fighter jet parts used by Israel.
“We’re working closely with the F-35 Joint Program Office to evaluate the impacts the recent Dutch court ruling will have on our supply chain,” the company says.
“We stand ready to support the US government and allies as needed,” it adds.
Former U.S. Naval Intelligence analyst Jonathan Pollard commented on the Dutch court decision: “Can you imagine what the U.S. reaction would have been if Israel had refused to release the American 155mm artillery rounds stored here in local depots because we didn’t want to ‘get involved’ in the Russo-Ukrainian War? The reaction from Washington would have been immediate and thunderous.”
He continued: “So far, though, the U.S. has remained silent about the Dutch refusal to forward American manufactured and owned F-35 parts to Israel. If the Americans continue to remain silent, they’re actually participating in an undeclared arms embargo against us. If this is the case, we should be very loud about just how unreliable the Americans are as arms suppliers.”
