Three human rights organizations, including the Dutch branch of Oxfam, have filed the case in the district court in The Hague, saying the export of the warplane parts allows Israel to bomb the Gaza Strip.
“Israel disregards the basic principles of the law of war, such as the distinction between civilian and military targets and the principle of proportionality,” the organizations said in their court filings when bombing Gaza.
Israel denies committing war crimes and says its forces are complying with international law in fighting Palestinian militants operating in densely populated civilian areas.
There is a regional warehouse in the Netherlands that stores U.S. F-35 parts that can be shipped to other F-35 partner countries such as Israel.
Several weeks after the October 7 Hamas attacks, the Dutch government allowed the delivery of spare parts for Israeli F-35s, government documents show.
The Dutch Defense Ministry, which is responsible for exports, did not comment on the lawsuit but said in a letter to parliament last week that based on current information, “it cannot be determined that the F-35 is involved in serious violations “the humanitarian laws of war”.
According to the Palestinian Bureau of Statistics, as of Sunday, more than 15,400 Gazans had been killed in the nearly two-month war that erupted after Hamas’ cross-border attack on southern Israel that killed 1,200 Israelis and took over 200 hostages.
The trial begins at 10:00 a.m. CET (09:00 GMT) and includes the plaintiffs’ case and a response from lawyers for the Dutch state. A verdict is expected in two weeks.