BERLIN (Dispatches) – Over 250 humanitarian and human rights organizations worldwide have filed a lawsuit against a German government decision to approve the export of 3,000 anti-tank weapons to Israel.
Last week, Berlin lawyers said they had filed an urgent appeal to halt exports of war weapons to Israel, citing reasons to believe they were being used in ways that could violate international humanitarian law in the Gaza Strip.
A joint statement by rights organization described itself as “an open call to all UN member states to stop fueling the crisis in Gaza and avert further humanitarian catastrophe and loss of civilian life.”
“We, the undersigned organizations, call on all states to immediately halt the transfer of weapons, parts, and ammunition to Israel,” it said, pointing to the “risk they are used to commit or facilitate serious violations of international humanitarian or human rights law.”
“Israel’s bombardment and siege are depriving the civilian population of the basics to survive and rendering Gaza uninhabitable. Today, the civilian population in Gaza faces a humanitarian crisis of unprecedented severity and scale.”
The statement highlighted the fact that more than 153 UN member states have called for an immediate ceasefire in Gaza, warning that “Israel continues to use explosive weapons and munitions in densely populated areas with massive humanitarian consequences for the people of Gaza.
“Member states have a legal responsibility to use all possible tools to leverage better protection of civilians and adherence to international humanitarian law.”
Among the statement’s signatories are Save the Children, Oxfam, the Jewish Network for Palestine, Medico International and Christian Aid.
“Gaza today is the most dangerous place to be a child, a journalist and an aid worker. Hospitals and schools should never become battlegrounds,” the statement read.
It also warned against recent calls by top Israeli officials for the deportation of Palestinian civilians from Gaza.
“The forcible transfer within Gaza and deportation of a portion of the population across borders, lacking any guarantees of return, would constitute a serious violation of international law, amounting to an atrocity crime,” the statement noted.
The occupying regime unleashed the bloody war on Gaza on October 7. Since the start of the aggression, the Zionist regime has killed at least 33,634 people in Gaza, mostly women and children, according to the health ministry in the territory.
The campaign has devastated large swathes of Gaza, destroyed hospitals and displaced most of its population of 2.4 million.