Three human rights NGOs have again filed a lawsuit against the Dutch government, claiming that the ban on supplying parts for F-35 fighter jets to Israel is not being respected in practice.
In a landmark ruling in February, the Court of Appeals ordered the Netherlands to stop supplying spare parts for these aircraft used by Israel in the Gaza Strip.
The court said there was a "clear risk" that the planes would be used in operations that violated international humanitarian law.
But the NGOs returned to court on Friday, confirming that the ban does not prevent the use of Dutch-made parts in Israeli aircraft.
Oxfam Novib, one of the three organizations behind the move, said: "Unfortunately, all indications are that these parts coming from the Netherlands are ending up in Israel in a roundabout way."
The Dutch government "continues to supply (spare parts) to other countries, including the United States. This is contrary to the court's decision," issued in February, Lisbeth Ziegfeld, a lawyer representing the three NGOs, told the court on Friday.
She added, "The court's decision applies to all spare parts for F-35 aircraft whose final destination is Israel, and the state must stop all such deliveries in practice," considering that the government must "effectively prevent" the spare parts from reaching Israel.
The NOS network, citing court documents, said the Dutch government had admitted that it could not prevent parts sent to the United States from ending up on Israeli F-35s.
Dutch prosecutor Reimer Veldhuis said the state does not believe it should impose restrictions on the export of F-35 aircraft spare parts to countries other than Israel.
He added that the possibility that the parts would actually be used in F-35 aircraft shipped to Israel was "very small" because they are used for production, not repair.
According to documents cited by the network, the United States sends Dutch-made spare parts for fighter jets to other countries as part of the global spare parts group. Israel supplies itself with spare parts in this way.
The Dutch government said it would abide by the February ruling, but announced that it would refer the case to the Supreme Court.
Government lawyers pointed out at the time that even if the Netherlands did not supply locally produced parts, Israel could easily obtain them from elsewhere.
International law experts confirmed to AFP that human rights violations are likely being committed by both sides in the conflict.
The conflict erupted in Gaza after the Islamic Resistance Movement (Hamas) attacked southern Israel on October 7, killing 1,195 people, most of them civilians, according to an Agence France-Presse tally based on Israeli figures.
In response, Israel launched an assault on the Gaza Strip that is still ongoing and has killed at least 37,765 people, most of them civilians, according to the Gaza Health Ministry.
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