Palestinian student sues the Danish state

The 26-year-old student, who does not want to be named, lost his two-year-old nephew in an Israeli attack on the Jabalia refugee camp in December, writes the Danish journal Danwatch.

Now he is trying to put an end to Denmark’s export of parts for the American-made F-35 fighter jets that Israel uses in its attacks on Gaza.

The student and his lawyer Eddie Omar Rosenberg Khawaja point out that the UN and EU rules on arms exports oblige Denmark to refuse the export of arms and military equipment if there is a risk that it will be used for war crimes or violations of international humanitarian law.

Concrete conditions

The subpoena is directed at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Ministry of Justice in Denmark and refers to three specific matters.

One is an Israeli attack on the Jabalia camp on 31 October in which over 100 people were killed.

The second case is an attack on a Palestinian ambulance outside the Shifa hospital in Gaza City on November 3, in which 15 people were killed.

The third relationship that is highlighted in the lawsuit as an example of a violation of international humanitarian law is Israel’s blockade of emergency aid, particularly to northern Gaza where the Palestinian student’s family is still located.

Co-responsibility

– Denmark has a shared responsibility as the Danish authorities approve the export of Danish fighter aircraft parts which with a high degree of security end up in Israel, says Khawaja.

Danwatch has previously documented how F-35 aircraft with Danish equipment have played a central role in Israel’s bombing of the Gaza Strip.

Denmark’s Foreign Minister Lars Løkke Rasmussen will not comment to Danwatch on the lawsuit from the Palestinian student, but says that it must be up to the courts to decide the case.

– But it is still the Ministry of Foreign Affairs’ assessment that Denmark’s access to export control to Israel is in accordance with our international obligations, he emphasizes.

Norwegian aircraft parts

Norwegian-made parts can also be found in the Israeli planes, which the American plane manufacturer has confirmed Free trade union movement.

– All F-35 fighters have parts made in Norway, says Lockheed Martin.

Nine Norwegian companies are now suppliers of parts for the fighter planes, among them state-owned Kongsberg Gruppen.

LO and the Trade Union Confederation have demanded that Norway stop allied countries’ resale of Norwegian weapons and weapon parts to Israel, as a result of the country’s warfare on the Gaza Strip.

The Storting is now considering a representative proposal from Rødt which asks the government to take the initiative for the US and NATO’s other member states to stop “all deliveries of weapons, weapon components and multi-purpose goods that might contribute to a genocide” in Gaza.

The proposal will be considered in the Foreign Affairs Committee, which will issue a recommendation on 25 May and come up for a vote on 17 June.

Stopover in the Netherlands

A judgment in the Netherlands earlier this year ordered the country to halt the export of parts for F-35 fighter jets due to the risk of Israel using them in war crimes in Gaza.

The Dutch state has appealed the ruling, but the appeal has not yet been finalized.

The then industry minister Jan Christian Vestre (Ap) received in February question from Ingrid Fiskaa (SV) in the Storting regarding whether the Netherlands’ decision would have consequences for the deliveries of Norwegian parts to the planes.

Vestre emphasized that the government expects Norwegian arms manufacturers to avoid contributing to, or supporting violations of international humanitarian law, and that there was dialogue with the Kongsberg group and Nammo in the matter.

– No reason to assume

Minister of Foreign Affairs Espen Barth Eide (Ap) also had to answer questions a few weeks later, following seven foreign aid workers were killed in an Israeli attack on an aid convoy in Gaza.

Rødt’s Bjørnar Moxnes then wanted an answer to whether Norwegian-produced weapons, weapon components or rocket fuel might have been used in the attack.

He pointed out, among other things, that Chemring Nobel at Hurum supplies fuel for American-made Hellfire rockets that Israel uses.

– We have no reason to assume that Norwegian weapons, weapon components or fuel were used in the attack on the aid convoy, said Barth Eide.

.