Amnesty has learnt that a German owned cargo ship, the Wehr Elbe, carrying huge amounts of weaponry from the U.S – possibly including controversial white phosphorous – has been heading for the Israeli port of Ashdod.
There are news reports that the ship has been suspended after pressure from Amnesty International. At the time of writing the status of the shipment is unclear, but its deadly cargo remains on board. We must maintain pressure to prevent the arms from being unloaded and used to fuel the conflict in Gaza.
More munitions will only fuel further military aggression in Gaza. For the sake of civilians in Gaza and Israel, we need to prevent this deadly shipment from reaching its final destination.
Amnesty is urging Foreign Secretary David Miliband to increase international pressure to prevent this ship with its “vast consignment” of weapons docking anywhere in Israel. Further, we are calling on the UN Security Council for an immediate arms embargo on all parties involved in the bloody conflict in Gaza.
Background information
Amnesty has identified at least 17 states apart from the US that have supplied arms and related materials to Israel since 2001. The US is by far the largest supplier but significant supplies have also been sent from Germany, France, the UK, Spain, the Slovak Republic, the Czech Republic, Canada, Slovenia, Australia, Romania, Austria, Belgium, Hungary, Serbia-Montenegro, and Bosnia-Herzogovina. The Netherlands and Greece have both been major transit countries to Israel, especially for US arms.
To prevent irresponsible transfers of conventional arms being used for serious violations of international law, including international human rights law and international humanitarian law, Amnesty International and hundreds of other NGOs, including the International Action Network on Small Arms and Oxfam International, have been campaigning for the establishment of a global Arms Trade Treaty (ATT). Over 150 Member States have voted for a UN process towards the establishment of an ATT, a process that will resume on 23 January in New York.
For more information, read the Amnesty press release
Amnesty has learnt that a German owned cargo ship, the Wehr Elbe, carrying huge amounts of weaponry from the U.S – possibly including controversial white phosphorous – has been heading for the Israeli port of Ashdod.
There are news reports that the ship has been suspended after pressure from Amnesty International. At the time of writing the status of the shipment is unclear, but its deadly cargo remains on board. We must maintain pressure to prevent the arms from being unloaded and used to fuel the conflict in Gaza.
More munitions will only fuel further military aggression in Gaza. For the sake of civilians in Gaza and Israel, we need to prevent this deadly shipment from reaching its final destination.
Amnesty is urging Foreign Secretary David Miliband to increase international pressure to prevent this ship with its “vast consignment” of weapons docking anywhere in Israel. Further, we are calling on the UN Security Council for an immediate arms embargo on all parties involved in the bloody conflict in Gaza.
Stop civilian bloodshed in Gaza and Israel – join our urgent call for a full arms embargo on all parties involved in the Gaza conflict – this ship must be stopped
