Dutch cabinet in hot water following revelations of continued F-35 deliveries to Israel

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Revelations that the Netherlands continues to send spare parts for F-35 fighter jets to Israel after the outbreak of the Israeli-Palestinian war, despite warnings from Foreign Ministry officials, have landed the Dutch cabinet in hot water, with lawmakers and academics condemning the move.

Foreign Minister Hanke Bruins Slot (CDA/EPP) and Foreign Trade Minister Liesje Schreinemacher (VVD/Renew) were informed about an Israeli order of spare parts for F-35 fighter jets in mid-October, shortly after the deadly Hamas attacks, according to sources from within the ministry, as revealed in an investigation conducted by NRC and published Tuesday.

Despite officials within the Foreign Ministry warning about delivering the spare parts to Israel, citing possible “serious violations of the humanitarian law of war”, notably in the Gaza Strip, the two ministers dismissed the warnings and greenlighted the export.

By greenlighting the export, the Dutch wished to maintain good relations both with Israel and the US, with the latter counting on the country to fulfil its role as a hub for F-35 spare parts, the NRC found. The Netherlands harbours one of three global distribution centres for F-35 spare parts in the town of Woensdrecht.

Questioned by NRC, the Foreign Ministry said that the cabinet is discussing whether to submit “specific deliveries” within the F-35 programme to “extra controls”.

Both “the Israeli right to self-defence” and “the risk of violations of international humanitarian law” would be considered during these supplementary assessments, it added.

The revelations were met with outcry from Dutch lawmakers and law professors.

“Despite warnings, [the cabinet] still supplies [fighter jet] parts to Israel because “afraid of damage” to the relationship with Israel and the US. Unbelievable,” Socialist lawmaker Jasper van Dijk (SP/EU Left) posted on X, asking why the “extra controls” were only announced after the media’s coverage of the issue.

Meanwhile, Liesbeth Zegveld, Professor of International Law at the University of Amsterdam, more or less directly accused the Dutch government of contributing to war crimes.

“The Netherlands must assume that everything supplied will be used in disproportionate airstrikes, making no distinction between civilians and Hamas fighters. The Netherlands is knowingly contributing to war crimes,” she told NRC.

The situation in the Middle East has thoroughly divided the Dutch political landscape.

While conservative and right-wing parties nearly unanimously support Israel and its right to self-defence, progressive and left-wing parties put more emphasis on the wide-scale human rights abuses committed by Israel against the Gaza Strip, including the humanitarian blockade of food, water and medicine from entering the territory as well as the wide-scale bombing campaign, which has led to significant civilian losses.

As of 6 November, the civilian death toll in Gaza is said to have exceeded 10.000, with UN General Secretary Antonio Guterres calling the strip a “graveyard for children”.

(Benedikt Stöckl | Euractiv.com)