16 top humanitarian orgs. call on states to stop arming 'Israel'
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Several humanitarian organizations come together to condemn the continued supply of arms to "Israel" despite the ongoing genocide.
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Israeli tanks are seen stationed near the border with Lebanon on October 11, 2023. (AP)
At least 16 renowned international humanitarian groups have launched a unified request on all UN member states to ban arms exports to "Israel" as the Israeli occupation continues its homicidal onslaught in the besieged Gaza Strip.
Oxfam, Save the Children, Amnesty International, and the American Friends Service Committee issued the request in a joint statement on Wednesday.
According to the statement, the organizations "demand an immediate ceasefire and call on all states to halt the transfer of weapons that can be used to commit violations of international humanitarian and human rights law."
The statement detailed that it is the obligation of all nations to "prevent atrocity crimes and promote adherence to norms that protect civilians," calling their commitment to do so "long overdue".
The US and Europe have armed "Israel" with billions of dollars in military aid, making them accomplices in the slaughter of the Palestinian people and directly responsible.
Writing for Le Monde Diplomatique on Monday, Gilbert Achkar argued that the US, particularly under the Biden administration, has significantly shifted its historical approach of trying to present itself as an impartial arbiter in the Israeli aggression on the Arab region.
Achkar contends that the US bears direct responsibility for the Gaza massacre by supplying "Israel" with substantial weaponry, noting that by late November, the US had delivered 57,000 artillery shells and 15,000 bombs, including powerful BLU-117s and BLU-109 ('bunker buster') bombs, some weighing almost a ton each.
The US had provided 244 arms deliveries by cargo plane and 20 shipments by boat to "Israel" by December 25.
Achkar contends that President Biden bears direct responsibility for the Gaza massacre, noting that his disagreement with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on post-war plans does not absolve them of joint responsibility for the war itself.
Scholz considering arming "Israel" even further
Der Spiegel reported earlier this month that the German government was contemplating an Israeli request for about 10,000 precision-guided 120mm tank ammunition. All of the agencies concerned have approved the request.
In November last year, a source in the German government told Reuters that "approvals for arms exports to Israel in 2023 have increased about 10 times compared to 2022," indicating Berlin's prioritization of arms exports to "Israel" since the onset of the aggression against Gaza.
German Chancellor Olaf Scholz has stated that more armament deliveries are potentially conceivable.
The Palestinian Foreign Ministry Wednesday accused Benjamin Netanyahu of ignoring the UN and international calls for a ceasefire.
The Ministry responded to Netanyahu's comments about continuing the war for another 6 months as "the genocide and forced displacement of Palestinian civilians in the Gaza Strip" continue.
The statement further added that Netanyahu is enabled by the "failure of the international institutions to bear their legal and moral responsibilities to end the occupation."
The Gaza director of the United Nations Agency for Palestinian Refugees (UNRWA) said earlier on Wednesday that two tank shells had hit a building sheltering 800 people in the city of Khan Younis, with reports that nine people had been martyred and 75 more were injured.
On Tuesday, the Israeli occupation military said it had "encircled" Khan Younis, Gaza's main southern city, which has become the epicenter of recent battles with the Palestinian Resistance.
The attack on the shelter in southern Gaza's biggest city sparked international condemnation, while the United Nations slammed a "blatant disregard" for the rules of war.
