On May 16, 2024, the Government of Spain announced that it would prohibit ships loaded with military material destined for Israel from docking at its ports. However, an investigation by Progressive International and the Palestinian Youth Movement to which elDiario.es has had access reveals that there were at least 25 trips from the US with military cargo between May and September of this year that stopped at the port. of Algeciras before continuing towards its final recipient: the Israeli Ministry of Defense (IMOD).
Investigators have detected 1,185 shipments with military supplies of more than 13,000 metric tons that followed that route. This newspaper has been able to verify this information through commercial databases. Among these shipments are armored plates (203 shipments), armored vehicles (57 shipments), engines, vehicle and aircraft parts, aircraft tires, projectile bodies, miscellaneous military equipment, other miscellaneous items and unidentified cargo (431 shipments). .
In response to questions from this medium, an official source from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs explains that they are “analyzing the information” with the “competent ministries” to “clarify what happened.” The same source adds that if what elDiario.es revealed this Monday is confirmed, “all necessary measures will be adopted” to guarantee “that a Spanish port is no longer used as a stopover to send military material to Israel.
In May of this year, faced with several alerts about ships suspected of carrying weapons to Israeli territory, the Minister of Foreign Affairs, José María Albares, stated that the Executive “would not allow” ships with military material destined for Israel to stop in Spain. “From there, I believe that any controversy is sterile and superfluous,” he concluded.
1,185 shipments to Israel with military material weighing 13,000 metric tons stopped in Algeciras between May and September
The United Nations rapporteur, Francesca Albanese, and organizations such as Human Rights Watch asked Spain to inspect those ships to ensure that they were not transporting military material. Finally, the route of one of those two ships was diverted to prevent it from docking in Spanish territory. “It is the first time that we do it, because it is the first time that we detect a ship that is carrying a shipment of weapons to Israel and that wants to stop at a Spanish port,” Minister Albares indicated then.
Despite that announcement by the Spanish Government, this new investigation indicates that “a weekly trip has rarely been lost” between May and September 2024 on this shipping line from the US to the Israeli Ministry of Defense, with transit through Algeciras, through from the transport and logistics company Maersk.
“Foreign Affairs has rejected and will continue to reject all requests for calls in Spanish ports for ships with military material and final destination to Israel,” the Ministry insists.
Spanish Law 53/2007 establishes full commitment to the International Arms Trade Treaty, which prohibits transfers – which includes transit – of military material to recipients who may use it to commit war crimes such as attacks on civilians, crimes of against humanity or genocide, which places Israel in a destiny not compatible with said Treaty. The very transfer of population from the occupying State – Israel – to the occupied Palestinian territory constitutes a war crime, according to numerous jurists who are experts in international law.
In addition, the UN Assembly resolution approved in September – with 124 votes in favor, including that of Spain – orders the suspension of investments, trade and transfers – which includes transit – that could contribute to the occupation. illegal Israeli or used as military material in the Palestinian territories.
“Rarely has a weekly trip been missed” between May and September on this shipping line through Algeciras
All shipments from the US that passed through Algeciras between May and September were registered in the name of the Israeli Ministry of Defense. The business address indicated for each data entry is that of Interglobal Forwarding Services (IFS), a US shipping and transportation company registered in Jersey.
IFS operates for the Israeli Ministry of Defense along with G&B Packing Company, Inc., according to Progressive International researchers. G&B Packing Company is also registered in Jersey City, New Jersey, and is responsible for receiving and processing approved export licenses in the United States on behalf of Israel.
On its website, Interglobal Forwarding Services (IFS) says it offers “a full range of freight forwarding services from around the world.” The company claims to specialize in “Foreign Military Sales (FMS) and defense contracts” and “trade compliance requirements (Export and Import Licenses).”
On November 9, the Maersk Denver ship from the US is scheduled to dock in Algeciras
IFS has been cited on multiple occasions in matters related to the arms trade to Israel. In particular, the report titled Fatal Freight (2017), from the International Peace Information Service (IPIS), details how this company served during the 2014 Israeli offensive against Gaza (“Operation Protective Wall”) to hide information about companies that sent military equipment to Israel. Thus, the shipping documents and cargo invoices—what are known as bills of lading—did not include the name of those companies supplying military material to Tel Aviv.
The investigation indicates that IFS has facilitated military shipments from US weapons manufacturers to the Israeli Ministry of Defense for at least a decade and served “to conceal the identities of these weapons manufacturers.”
It also points out that, “considering the action of the Spanish Government in May to block military shipments to Israel”, it is “very possible” that the Israeli Ministry of Defense “is intentionally hiding the true nature of this shipment” to “get around the restrictions on arms shipments.”
More ships on the way
On November 9, the Maersk Denver ship, coming from the Newark-Elizabeth port, is scheduled to dock at the port of Algeciras. Another ship, the Maersk Seletar, will arrive in Algeciras on November 15. With data “available to the port authority, it can be determined whether either of these two vessels contains cargo from Interglobal Forwarding Services sent on behalf of the Israeli Ministry of Defense,” indicates one of the researchers.
Submissions and awards in 2023-2024
In February of this year elDiario.es revealed that, despite the announced suspension, Spain had indeed shipped weapons to Israel in October, November and December 2023. In the case of December, that shipment had the final destination of the Philippines, after passing through Israeli territory. Spain also sent military material in January and February 2024, to be re-exported to the Philippines.
In July elDiario.es reported on a new investigation by the Dèlas Center for Peace Studies which showed that, since October 7, 2023, Spain allocated 1,027 million euros to acquire Israeli military material from companies that profit from the massacres in Gaza and the illegal occupation.
Several groups, integrated into the End Arms Trade with Israel campaign, have long demanded a formal embargo and the revocation of all current contracts for military material whose destination or origin is the State of Israel. Added to this is a recent letter, signed by 300 personalities from the world of culture, in which President Pedro Sánchez is asked for a comprehensive arms embargo on Israel, including “the transit of weapons and military fuel through our territory.”
On October 22, the Minister of Defense, Margarita Robles, stated for the first time that all awards to Israeli arms companies are paralyzed, but did not clear up doubts about the contracts for the purchase of Israeli military material that were continuing until a few weeks ago. .
The Arms Trade Treaty prohibits transfers – including transit – of military material to countries that could use it to commit war crimes.
Six days ago Cadena SER reported on a purchase of 15 million Israeli bullets for more than six million euros, awarded on October 21, as can be verified through public data. The dissemination of this information provoked the reaction of the Spanish Ministry of the Interior, which announced the start of a process “to cancel said purchase”, without giving details about the conditions of the contract cancellation clause.
On October 28, South Africa handed over to the International Court of Justice “new evidence of genocidal actions in Gaza.” Also a few days ago, the United Nations rapporteur for the Palestinian Territories, Francesca Albanese, presented a new 35-page report in which she documents in detail “the patterns of conduct” that show Israel’s intention to employ “genocidal acts.” Albanese notes that since his previous report, published in March, “genocidal acts have multiplied.”
According to official figures, there are already at least 43,204 dead and 101,641 people injured in Gaza since October 7, 2023. To these numbers we must add an undetermined number of missing people under the rubble, as well as the deaths caused by the intentional blockage of aid humanitarian action by Israel, which is causing hunger and disease. Public health experts estimate that the number of deaths from direct and indirect causes could exceed 180,000. Despite the complaints, new killings of civilians continue to be recorded.
Source: www.eldiario.es
