Palestinian officials have described the ongoing supply of arms to Israel by US and western European countries as “a bullet aimed at the heart of justice” in the Middle East.
The remarks came at a meeting to mark the 10th anniversary of the Arms Trade Treaty (ATT), adopted by 155 states a decade ago in the UN General Assembly as the world’s first legally-binding agreement to regulate the trade in conventional arms.
Palestinian officials used a three-day conference of state parties to the treaty in Geneva to demand that all ATT signatory states cease arms shipments to Israel. “It is within your power to cut off the supply of arms that prolongs this brutal illegal occupation,” said Riham Barghouthi of the permanent observer mission of the state of Palestine to the UN office in Geneva. “It is your responsibility to...stand with the victims, and to send a clear message that you will not tolerate the use of force to subjugate and destroy.”
She described as “shocking” reports of additional US arms transfers to Israel worth a reported $20 billion (€18bn).
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Figures from the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute indicate the US – a signatory to the ATT – is responsible for 42 per cent of the global arms trade.
Germany, until now Israel’s number two arms supplier, has come under scrutiny in two court cases this year.
In June the Berlin administrative court dismissed a complaint claiming Germany was in violation of the ATT because of its exports to Israel. In making its decision the court cited figures indicating German arms exports to Israel had in effect ceased.
From January to May of this year Germany issued arms export licenses for Israel worth just over €10 million. Of that total just €32,449 was for armaments and the rest was for military hardware such as helmets and protective vests. The total value of export licenses for May, the last month for which data is available, amounted to €187.
n April, Nicaragua argued before the International Court of Justice in The Hague that Germany’s arms exports to Israel – €326.5 million last year – make it complicit in Israel’s alleged war crimes. The court refused a request by Nicaragua to impose a blanket export ban on German arms exports to Israel – again as they had effectively ceased.
At the Geneva gathering the International Committee of the Red Cross said the ATT “faithfully implemented” would avoid serious violations of international humanitarian law and human rights law. “I urge you to take an honest look at how actions and inactions in arms transfer perpetuate suffering,” said ICRC president Mirjana Spoljaric.
Ahead of the Geneva meeting Amnesty International accused signatories of “brazenly flouting” the letter and spirit of the ATT.
