The Netherlands is embroiled in a legal quagmire over F-35 parts for Israel, with its government and judiciary locked in a dispute that has now reached the Supreme Court. Here’s a breakdown of the complex situation.
The problem starts with a Dutch airbase that serves as a regional logistics hub for U.S.-owned F-35 parts. When the Israel-Gaza war began, rights groups sued the Dutch government, claiming that allowing these parts to be shipped to Israel made the Netherlands an accomplice to alleged war crimes.
The first court to hear the case sided with the government, allowing the exports to continue. But in February 2024, an appeals court reversed that decision. It imposed a ban, stating there was a “clear risk” the parts were being used to violate international law. This created a legal obligation for the government to act against its own policy.
The government appealed to the Supreme Court, creating the current standoff. Its argument is twofold. First, it claims that foreign policy is a political issue for the government to decide, not a legal one for the courts. Second, it says a ban is pointless because the U.S. would just ship the parts from another warehouse.
Now, the Supreme Court must untangle this mess. It has to decide if the appeals court was right to intervene and if the government’s obligation to international law outweighs its authority over foreign policy. The ruling will be a landmark decision on the power of courts to influence matters of war and peace.