Dutch government faces lawsuit over F-35 parts export to Israel

On Monday, the Netherlands will be confronted with a lawsuit claiming that its involvement in exporting F-35 fighter jet components to Israel implicates it in purported war crimes in Gaza.

The case, filed by three human rights groups including Oxfam's Dutch branch, will be heard in the district court in The Hague. They argue that the export of these aircraft parts facilitates Israel's bombing of the Gaza Strip, Reuters reported.

"Israel disregards the fundamental principles of the laws of war, such as distinguishing between civilian and military targets and the principle of proportionality," in the bombing of the Gaza Strip, the organisations said in their court filings.

Several weeks following the October 7 attacks by Hamas, the Dutch government approved the delivery of spare parts for Israeli F-35 jets, as revealed by government records.

The Dutch defence ministry, responsible for overseeing such exports, wrote to the parliament last week saying that current information does not confirm the involvement of F-35 jets in serious breaches of international humanitarian law.