The Netherlands must stop sending parts for F-35 fighter jets used by Israel in the Gaza Strip, a Dutch court said on Monday, ruling in favor of rights groups, AFP and Reuters reported, citing Agerpres.

“The court orders the state to stop any export and transit of parts for the F-35 to the final destination of Israel within seven days of notification of this decision,” said the Court of Appeal in The Hague. The court assessed that there were risks that these parts would be used in actions that violate international humanitarian law, affecting civilians during the war between Israel and Hamas.

The court also found that maintaining good relations with the US and Israel, which is the subject of this case, according to the Dutch state, is not a good argument for continuing to export parts. Thus, the appellate court overturned the verdict of the first instance in this case.

The District Court of The Hague, the first instance, ruled in December that the supply of details was primarily a political decision in which judges should not interfere.

A Dutch court upheld a complaint about military exports to Israel

A group of human rights groups filed the lawsuit, alleging that the supply of parts contributes to alleged violations of international law by Israel in its war against the Palestinian Islamist movement Hamas.

The case concerns F-35 parts that belong to the US and are stored in the Netherlands, from where they are sent to partner countries, including Israel, as part of export agreements.

Dutch authorities said in November that they did not know for sure whether they had the right to interfere with the deliveries, which are being carried out as part of a US-led operation to provide individual parts for all of the partner’s F-35s. countries.

International law experts explained to AFP that human rights violations were likely committed by both sides of the conflict. An unprecedented attack by Hamas militants in southern Israel on October 7 killed more than 1,160 people, most of them civilians, according to an AFP count based on official Israeli figures.

In response, Israel has vowed to destroy the Islamist movement in power in Gaza since 2007, which it considers a “terrorist organization,” as do the United States and the European Union. According to the Hamas Health Ministry, the Israeli offensive has so far killed more than 28,340 people in the Gaza Strip, most of them civilians.