The government of Wallonia in southern Belgium on Monday suspended two arms export licenses to Israel.
Officials said the decision was due to the “unacceptable deterioration of the humanitarian situation in the Gaza Strip.”
They also referred to a recent ruling by the International Court of Justice ordering Israel to avoid genocide in Gaza, according to local media reports.
The decision came days after NGOs wrote an open letter to Minister and President Hélio di Lepoiron calling for an immediate halt to arms exports to Israel.
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Amnesty International Belgium, the Human Rights Alliance, the National Coordination of Action for Peace and Democracy, and Vredeshati (Peace Action) made the request in a letter published in the Belgian daily Le Soir on February 2. If the question was not answered within 8 days, a warning was issued. , referred to as a “court of competent jurisdiction to enforce international law”.
“Belgium, as a party to the Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide, must respect its obligations to prevent genocide.
“This means, inter alia, not providing Israel with the means to enable acts that potentially amount to genocide,” they said in the letter.
Speaking in parliament on Monday, Housing Minister Christophe Collignon announced that he had temporarily suspended two explosives specialist licenses granted to the PB Clermont munitions factory in Liège in 2023.
Collignon added that the gunpowder’s final destination was not Israel but European countries.
“However, the January 26 order of the International Court of Justice, the United Nations’ main judicial body, and the unacceptable deterioration of the humanitarian situation in the Gaza Strip, prompted the Minister and President to temporarily suspend the valid permit. ” he continued.
As Israel’s war in Gaza approaches its fifth month, calls are growing for companies and organizations to end ties with Israel.
Japan’s Itochu Corporation recently announced that it will end its cooperation with Elbit Systems, Israel’s largest arms company, in February, citing Israel’s war in Gaza and the ICJ’s interim decision.
At least 27,585 Palestinians have been killed and at least 67,000 injured in Gaza by Israeli airstrikes during the four-month war, according to the Palestinian Ministry of Health. Another 7,000 people are missing, believed to be dead or trapped under rubble.