Amnesty International has today added its name to a complaint filed against FedEx Belgium alleging the unlawful transit of arms, including parts for F-35 fighter jets which have been used extensively by Israel during its ongoing genocide against Palestinians in the occupied Gaza Strip.
The human rights organization has joined a coalition of civil society organizations, including Vredesactie, Ligue des droits humains, and Coordination nationale d’action pour la paix et la démocratie, which filed a criminal complaint with the Public Prosecutor of Liège in Belgium’s Wallonia region, against FedEx Belgium. The company is the Belgian subsidiary of the US shipping giant.
Under laws governing Wallonia, a federal region with legislative power, FedEx Belgium was required to obtain a transit licence from local authorities for the shipment, which it failed to do. The transfer of such arms without this license is a criminal offence under Belgian law.
“F-35 fighter jets are the most advanced combat aircraft in the Israeli Air Force, which has caused widespread death and destruction, wiping out entire generations of Palestinian families and reducing most of the Gaza Strip to rubble. Israel’s ongoing genocide demands constant re-supply of weapons; and all states, including Belgium, have a duty to prevent and punish genocide and not to contribute to Israel’s unlawful occupation of the Palestinian territory which requires also immediately halting any transfer or transit of arms that may be used to commit crimes under international law,” said Carine Thibaut, Director of Amnesty International (Francophone) Belgium.
