Dutch Supreme Court orders review of 'Israel' arms exports policy
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The Netherlands' top court has ordered the government to reassess its weapons exports to "Israel", focusing on whether F-35 fighter jet parts risk violating international law.
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US F-35 fighter jets fly over José Aponte de la Torre Airport in Ceiba, Puerto Rico, Friday, Sept. 19, 2025. (AP)
The Dutch government must re-examine its weapons exports to "Israel", the nation's Supreme Court ruled on Friday.
While the court did not uphold a ban on exporting F-35 fighter jet parts that a lower court had ordered last year, it stated that the government must independently assess whether there is a risk these parts could be used to violate international law.
The court gave the government six weeks to complete this review, during which the ban on exporting fighter jet parts remains in effect.
Case-by-case review
On December 13, a Dutch court rejected a case from a coalition of pro-Palestine organizations that sought to halt the government’s arms exports to "Israel," a decision that came despite the number of people killed since the start of the Israeli war on Gaza reaching nearly 45,000 at the time.
The court, based in The Hague, dismissed all claims and stated that "there is no reason to impose a total ban on the export of military and dual-use goods on the state," after the NGOs had argued that the Dutch government was failing to prevent Israeli genocide in Gaza and accused "Israel" of using Dutch-supplied weapons in its military operations.
In the hearings, the NGOs' lawyer Wout Albers underscored the points that "Israel is guilty of genocide and apartheid" and "is using Dutch weapons to wage war."
The Dutch government's lawyer, Reimer Veldhuis, argued the state had complied with European arms export laws and requested the case be thrown out.
The court agreed with the government, stating it is fulfilling its international obligation to assess arms exports on a case-by-case basis and to refuse them if there is a risk they could be used to violate international law.
A similar case was launched in June of 2024, where three human rights organizations went to court against the Dutch government for not conforming to the ban on supplying F-35 fighter jet parts to "Israel", after a Netherlands court ruled that the country must cease providing the occupation with these parts.
"The court orders the State to cease all actual export and transit of F-35 parts with final destination Israel within seven days after service of this judgment," the court said in the ruling, adding, "The considerations that the minister makes are to a large extent of a political and policy nature and judges should leave the minister a large amount of freedom."
