As the Dutch Supreme Court hears a critical appeal on F-35 parts for Israel, scrutiny is intensifying across Europe regarding military trade with the nation amid the ongoing war in Gaza. The Dutch case is a prominent example of a continent-wide trend of legal and political challenges to arms exports.
The hearing in The Hague is the latest stage in a lawsuit brought by human rights groups. They contend that the Netherlands is complicit in potential war crimes by allowing the transit of F-35 components. A Dutch appeals court agreed in February 2024, banning the shipments and escalating the political stakes. The government’s appeal claims judicial overreach into its foreign policy domain.
This legal drama in the Netherlands is not happening in isolation. In a largely symbolic but significant move, Slovenia announced a ban on all weapons trade with Israel. The U.K. government has suspended some licenses for arms exports over concerns they could be used to break international law, and Spain says it halted arms sales in October 2023.
Furthermore, similar court cases challenging weapons transfers to Israel are underway in France and Belgium. This wave of legal and political action reflects a growing unease within Europe over the conduct of the war in Gaza and the role Western nations may be playing in it.
The Dutch government’s argument that a ban would be “meaningless” as the U.S. would supply the parts anyway is being tested against a rising tide of public and legal pressure. The Supreme Court’s decision will therefore resonate far beyond its borders, potentially influencing policy and legal strategies in other European capitals.