By Nur Asena Erturk
ANKARA (AA) – A Dutch court on Friday dismissed demands by human rights groups and ruled that the government could continue providing arms to Israel, the De Volkskrant daily reported.
Four human rights groups, including the Dutch affiliate of Oxfam and Amnesty International, asked the court for a ban on the government from supplying Israel with F-35 spare parts, claiming that Tel Aviv was using the fighters jets to bomb Gaza.
The court dismissed the request and ruled that the government had a large degree of freedom in weighing political and policy issues in this regard.
The Dutch Foreign Ministry had argued that banning supply could harm the Netherland's relations with fellow countries in the F-35 program.
Oxfam, in a thread on X, called the ruling disappointing, saying that humanitarian law was clearly being violated in Gaza and Dutch deliveries were contributing to it. It added that the groups will appeal the decision and continue to fight for a cease-fire in the besieged enclave, where Israeli bombardment has killed more than 18,700 Palestinians, mostly women and children, besides leaving a trail of destruction.
The war has left Gaza in ruins with half of the coastal territory's housing stock damaged or destroyed, and nearly 2 million people displaced within the densely-populated enclave amid shortages of food and clean water.