Dutch court to rule on indirect export of F-35 parts to Israel via the United States, July 12

Published by Brent Patterson on June 29, 2024

Video still: How Canada helps build Israel’s fighter jets (The Breach, April 11, 2024)

The Associated Press reports: “Human rights groups returned to a Dutch court Friday [June 29] seeking stricter enforcement of a court order to halt Dutch exports to Israel of parts for F-35 fighter jets used in the Gaza war, saying that the parts likely still wind up in Israel via the United States.”

The article continues:

“An appeals court ordered the Dutch government in February to halt the export of F-35 fighter jet parts to Israel, citing a clear risk of violations of international law if they are used in strikes on Gaza. The government has appealed that ruling, but says it is abiding by the order pending the outcome by halting direct exports to Israel.

However, lawyer Liesbeth Zegveld told a judge at a summary hearing at The Hague District Court that Dutch F-35 parts are still being delivered to other countries, notably staunch Israeli ally the United States and urged the judge to ensure those deliveries also do not wind up in Israel.

Rolien Sasse, of the Dutch rights group PAX, told the court it should order the Netherlands to take proactive measures to prevent parts made in the Netherlands being installed in Israeli fighter jets. PAX launched the summary proceedings along with Oxfam Novib and The Rights Forum.

The Dutch court set July 12 as the tentative date to deliver its decision.”

Canadian-made components in Israeli F-35s

This past January, Kelsey Gallagher of Project Ploughshares wrote in Fanning the Flames: “Some Canadian-made components transferred to the United States, including components integrated in the F-35 aircraft, are eventually supplied to the IDF.”

Gallagher adds: “The aircraft is assembled with components from manufacturers in more than a dozen countries, including Canada. …Canadian suppliers have manufactured segments of the F-35’s airframe and a host of internal components, including engine monitoring sensors, printed circuit boards, segments of the landing gear, inserts of the weapons bay door, and the horizontal tail of the aircraft. …Canadian components produced for the F-35 program are manufactured in Canada and exported to Fort Worth, Texas, to be integrated into the aircraft on the final assembly line, ‘Plant 4’, a government-owned production facility that is operated by Lockheed Martin.”

He further notes: “An April 2018 study commissioned by Lockheed Martin outlining the economic impact of F-35 production on the Canadian economy stated that ‘there is $2.3 million USD [approximately C$3.1-million] worth of Canadian components on every F-35 jet manufactured.’”

Canadian parts

Gallagher highlights: “Canadian suppliers have manufactured segments of the F-35’s airframe and a host of internal components, including engine monitoring sensors, printed circuit boards, segments of the landing gear, inserts of the weapons bay door, and the horizontal tail of the aircraft.”

The supply chain for the F-35 includes Stelia North America in Lunenburg, NS. CBC has reported: “The company builds many different parts for the aircraft, ranging from panels used as part of the fuselage, to shims used to help open and close the weapons bay doors on the underside of the jet.”

The Breach also produced this video listing about 12 of the estimated 110 companies in Canada that produce parts for the F-35.

Gallagher also writes: “According to publicly available U.S. Department of Defense federal procurement records, a number of active F-35 production contracts include subawards to Canadian aerospace manufacturers or Canadian-based subsidiaries, including Apex Industries [Moncton, NB], Asco Aerospace Canada [Delta, BC], Avcorp Industries [Delta, BC], Centra Industries [Cambridge, ON], Héroux-Devtek [Kitchener, ON], Honeywell ASCa [Mississauga, ON], and Magellan Aerospace [Haley Station, ON].”

Peace Brigades International

In October 2023, Peace Brigades International called for an immediate ceasefire, respect for international humanitarian law, an end to collective punishment and a process of negotiations leading to a just and lasting peace.

In February 2024, PBI further called for on the international community to suspend the supply of arms to Israel and the armed groups involved in the conflict.

Then in May 2024, PBI-Canada signed this statement calling for an arms embargo that specifies: “Canadian companies export weapons, components, and military technology to Israel, including via the United States. These military exports, whether directly or by way of intermediaries, put Canada at risk of complicity in Israel’s grave human rights violations in Gaza and the West Bank.”

We continue to follow this.

Further reading: More than 800 human rights defenders killed in Palestine over the past six months (April 26, 2024)

Also: The companies arming Israel and their financiers published on June 20, 2024, by 19 civil society organizations and trade unions including PAX, the largest peace organization in the Netherlands.