Truly silence the guns. More than 250 humanitarian and human rights organizations have joined an open letter calling for an “immediate” end to all arms transfers “to Israel and Palestinian armed groups”. “We demand an immediate ceasefire and call on all States to stop the transfer of weapons that can be used to commit violations of international humanitarian law and human rights,” the organizations pleaded Thursday, joining an initiative launched four months ago. The open letter published last January by 16 organizations - including Amnesty International, Save the Children, Oxfam and Médecins du Monde - now has more than 250 signatures.
In the letter, the NGOs denounce both Israeli attacks against the civilian population, which “make Gaza uninhabitable” and “hostage-taking and indiscriminate attacks” by armed Palestinian groups. They call on “all UN member states” to stop “fueling” the war in Gaza by sending materials “likely to be used to commit violations of international humanitarian and human rights law.” by both camps.
Macron questioned by left-wing deputies
This demand especially affected Israel, whose firepower was considered disproportionate and responsible for the catastrophic humanitarian situation suffered in the Gaza Strip. Last month, the Canadian government made it official that it had stopped sending military equipment to Israel even though the Jewish state was, in recent years, among the 10 main destinations for Canadian arms exports. The Netherlands and Spain have taken action.
Last week, 115 left-wing French deputies held up these countries as an example to challenge Emmanuel Macron and demand that France stop providing military equipment to the government of Benyamin Netanyahu. They relied on investigations by the investigative sites Disclose and Marsactu, according to which “France authorized, at the end of October 2023, the delivery to Israel of at least 100,000 pieces of cartridges for machine guns likely to be used against civilians in Gaza.
The same day, the UN Human Rights Council demanded a halt to all arms sales to Israel at war with Hamas in Gaza, in a resolution citing fears of "genocide" against the Palestinians. “The United Nations Security Council must assume its responsibility to maintain world peace and security by adopting measures to stop the transfer of arms to the government of Israel and Palestinian armed groups,” insists the letter from the NGOs, therefore including Hamas, the Palestinian Islamic Jihad group and the smaller factions which support them in the fighting.