The Campaign to End the Arms Trade with Israel has gained the support of numerous national and regional unions across Spain – from the Canary Islands, Galicia, Andalusia and Valencia – to call on the Spanish government to implement a protocol for inspection of ships transiting through Spain at destination. Israel and a complete arms embargo against that country.
The unions signed a letter addressed to the Minister of Transport and Sustainable Mobility, Óscar Puente, in which they underline their rejection of the fact that “various Spanish ports have served as transit spaces to fuel the genocide of the Palestinian people”, mentioning the information published in recent days, such as this investigation by elDiario.es.
“Imposing an arms embargo on Israel is a legal and moral obligation. We cannot, we will not, continue to look the other way, while thousands of people on the other side of the Mediterranean are murdered with weapons paraded before our eyes. A genocide in Palestine, an invasion in Lebanon,” the unions say in the letter. “More than 43,000 people were killed last year, thousands of people were displaced from their homes again and again, without water, without food, without electricity and without any medical assistance, because Israel is destroying all means of subsistence in the face of accomplices. view of the international community,” they add in the letter.
“As workers, we know that solidarity among those fighting for rights and freedom is essential to putting an end to those who oppress,” they continue. For this reason, they demand that the government “impose a comprehensive and immediate arms embargo on Israel and develop a systematic inspection protocol for all ships transiting our territory to Israel.”
State-level signatories are CCOO and CGT, in addition to many regional unions from port areas throughout the country, such as Intersindical Valenciana, Solidaritat Obrera Barcelona, UGT de Catalunya, Frente Sindical Obrero de Canarias, SAT Sindicato Andaluz de Trabajadores. , etc. .
Besides the unions, another group joined the demand for an arms embargo against Israel, as well as the severance of diplomatic, commercial and military relations and guarantees for Palestinian asylum seekers in Spain, among others . “The recently established Lawyers for Palestine platform is made up of a large group of lawyers, judges, prosecutors and academics who have come together to demand that the Spanish government strictly respect its obligations under international law in the face of serious human rights violations in Palestine,” the group said in a statement.
“We have confirmed that traditional legal channels have not been effective in putting an end to the connivance of the Spanish State in the crimes committed against the Palestinian people, which has led this group to come together to exert pressure, thus associating itself with the response of civil authorities, organized society,” explains the platform.
