PARIS — Eleven NGOs including Amnesty International France and Attac have filed court cases to make France stop arms deliveries to Israel, according to investigative outlet Disclose.
They’re asking for “an immediate suspension of arms export licenses to the Hebrew state, due to the risk of use against civilians in Gaza.”
Last month, Disclose and Marsactu reported that, in October, Paris sold Israel spare parts for machine guns that could be used in Gaza. French Armed Forces Minister Sébastien Lecornu replied to reporters that “it’s a license only for re-export” to other customers.
Over the past week, the NGOs filed three different cases to the Paris administrative court.
One focuses specifically on an arms export license for ammunition and fuze setting devices known as ML3. Another asks for the suspension of around 20 other arms export licenses for weapon sights, bombardment calculators (ML5) and infrared or thermal imaging equipment (ML15). The third demands the suspension of all export licenses for both weapons and dual-use goods to Israel.
The court cases come as Western nations including the U.K. and Germany are under increasing pressure to stop selling weapons to the Israeli government, as it wages a deadly monthslong assault in the Gaza Strip. Canada, Spain and Belgium have announced they will no longer send weaponry to Israel, while a Dutch court banned the shipment of F-35 fighter jet parts.
In the U.S., Democrats are starting to ask for guarantees before approving warplane sales.
Over the past decade, Paris exported €208 million worth of military equipment to the Israeli government. In comparison, Washington’s military aid to Israel amounted to at least $3.3 billion for 2023 alone.
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