A container on its way to a military vehicle manufacturer in Israel was stopped at the port of Antwerp by the wrong people, a judge said, insisting that the Flemish government do more to enforce international treaties
Foreign News
Judge rules on container filled with parts to make tanks destined for Israel
Lisa Bradshaw
Published:
A judge has warned the Flemish government that it must do more to ensure that parts for weaponry used to invade Gaza do not make their way to Israel through the port of Antwerp. The statement was in response to a case filed by human rights organizations that flagged up a container in the port filled with tapered roller bearings that was headed to Israel.
Last month, a container in Antwerp was detained after it was discovered that it contained three pallets of tapered roller bearings that were on their way to Ashot Ashkelon Industries. The Israeli company builds Merkava tans and armoured cars that have been used to carry out attacks on the Palestinians in Israel’s ongoing war on Gaza.
The government cannot shift its treaty obligations onto a collective of alert citizens
The container arrived in the port from France and was flagged up to authorities by a group of human rights organizations, who stopped the passage of the container via court order. “The government cannot shift its legal nor its treaty obligations onto a collective of alert citizens,” said the judge. “The government must comply with these obligations not only passively but also actively. Apparently, this is not happening, or is not happening sufficiently.”
The judge ruled that the Flemish Strategic Goods Service (DCSG) must take steps to ensure that proper procedures are followed in order to conform to the arms trade decree. According to Nils Duquet of the Flemish Peace Institute, the biggest problem is a lack of communications between authorities.
“Customs says they can only check if the Flemish government says there’s something to check. And Flanders says they only intervene if customs tells them to,” says Duquet. “Insufficient information is being exchanged, which allows these shipments to continue.”
The judge agreed, saying that “several barges every month leave Antwerp destined for Israeli ports, with goods that may be subject to a permit requirement. Apparently, suspicious transits were already taking place.”
Flemish minister-president Matthias Diependaele responded that his government had already taken steps to improve protocol between DCSG and customs and that more personnel had been hired to reinforce services.