Pressure in Western countries to stop arms sales to Israel (Photo circulated by the Israeli army for free media use)

The positions of parliamentarians and officials in Western countries continue to demand a halt to arms sales to Israel due to the massacres it has been committing in the Gaza Strip for 6 months, which have so far claimed the lives of about 33,000 Palestinian martyrs and more than 75,000 injured since last October 7.

In France, 115 parliamentarians sent a letter to President Emmanuel Macron in which they asked him to stop all arms sales to Israel, and warned that not taking that step would entail risks that would make France a partner in genocide against the Palestinian people.

The parliamentarians said that stopping the sale of all types of weapons to the far-right government of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu would enhance peace efforts in the region.

They called on Macron to follow the example of other countries such as Canada and the Netherlands that have taken similar decisions to ban the sale of weapons to Israel.

In their letter, the parliamentarians reminded the French President that the number of deaths in the Israeli attacks on the Gaza Strip will exceed 33,000 in the coming days. They also reminded him that the International Court of Justice ruled last January that there was a risk of genocide in Gaza, and asked Israel to prevent that.

The parliamentarians said that many opposition representatives called on the French government to provide a statement of French military supplies to Israel in light of the genocidal crimes committed by its army in Gaza.

They explained that many members of the government reported that France had sent military supplies related to defense systems to Israel.

Germany

In Germany, a number of German lawyers announced yesterday, Friday, the filing of an urgent lawsuit against the German government to oblige it to stop the export of weapons to Israel commissioned by Palestinians in Gaza, on suspicion that these weapons are “used in gross violations of international law.”

This is the second lawsuit filed by these lawyers belonging to Palestinian organizations operating in Europe.

The complainants are asking the German government to “protect their lives” and stop arms exports, according to what was stated by the European Legal Support Center, the Palestine Institute for Public Diplomatic Services, the Law for Palestine Organization, and the Forensic Research Agency, which are supporting the lawsuit.

The lawyers relied on several facts, including that Germany has become the largest European supporter of Israel in arms, and the value of German weapons that arrived in Israel amounted to about 326 million euros in 2023, the majority of them after last October 7, which doubled German arms exports to Israel by approximately 10 times.

A report from the organizers stated that the German government will continue to support Israel during the year 2024, and that it plans to approve the export of 10,000 120 mm tank shells.

America

Yesterday, Friday, legislator and former Speaker of the US House of Representatives, Nancy Pelosi, signed a letter addressed to President Joe Biden and his Secretary of State, Anthony Blinken, demanding a halt to arms transfers to Israel.

The letter was signed by 40 Democratic representatives, and stated, “Given the recent strike on aid workers and the worsening humanitarian crisis, we believe it is unjustified to approve these arms transfers.”

In their letter, the representatives called on the Biden administration to conduct a special investigation into an Israeli air strike last Monday that killed 7 employees of the American Central Kitchen charity in the Gaza Strip.

Pelosi's support for halting arms transfers to Israel showed that this is the widely prevailing position within the Democratic Party.

An international resolution

Yesterday, Friday, the United Nations Human Rights Council adopted a resolution banning the export of arms to Israel against the backdrop of its continued war on the Gaza Strip, which is the first position the Council has taken regarding the war on Gaza.

The resolution - adopted by the UN Council - called for Israel to be held accountable for possible war crimes and crimes against humanity in the Gaza Strip, with a majority of 28 votes, against 6 countries objecting, and 13 abstentions.

The Human Rights Council resolution was opposed by the United States, Germany, Paraguay, Malawi, Bulgaria and Argentina.

The Council's adoption of the resolution came after Pakistan submitted a draft resolution calling for a ban on weapons sent to Israel, and demanding that it end the occupation of the Palestinian territories and fulfill its legal responsibility to prevent genocide.

On March 20, Canada announced a halt to arms exports to Israel after a non-binding resolution from the House of Commons, where the Canadian Parliament voted to halt arms exports to Israel with 204 votes against 117 votes supporting sending arms to Tel Aviv.

Canadian Foreign Minister Melanie Jolie said at the time that the original proposal was to suspend arms sales to Tel Aviv, but it was changed to a total ban.

The Netherlands also took a decision to stop exporting spare parts for F-16 and F-35 aircraft to Israel last February.

Source: Al Jazeera + agencies