Palestinians visit the graves of people who were killed in the ongoing conflict, on the day of Eid al-Fitr, in Gaza Strip, April 10, 2024. (Credit: Mahmoud Issa/AFP)
BEIRUT — Eight organizations, including Amnesty International France, announced on Thursday legal procedures to demand "the suspension of arms deliveries" from France to Israel, an action described as "perfectly exceptional."
"There is clearly a risk that the weapons and military equipment that France exports to Israel may be used to commit serious crimes against civilian populations in the occupied Gaza Strip," the NGOs, associations, and unions, including Attac and Solidaires, warned in a statement.
"In doing so, France violates international rules, including the Arms Trade Treaty, and risks becoming complicit in violations of international law, including war crimes and possible genocide." The statement's co-authors have filed or are filing three separate urgent legal procedures.
In late March, French Minister of Armed Forces Sébastien Lecornu denied France was selling weapons to Israel, which has been at war in Gaza since Oct. 7.
According to investigative sites Disclose and Marsactu, "France authorized, at the end of October 2023, the delivery to Israel of at least 100,000 pieces of cartridges for sub-machine guns likely to be used against civilians in Gaza."
"There is extreme opacity surrounding the conditions under which France is currently intervening and providing weapons," said Vincent Brengarth, lawyer for six organizations, including the Association France Palestine Solidarité. The association is set to file for a suspension with the Paris Administrative Court of all export licenses for military supplies to Israel.
"The acts of complicity that constitute the provision of weapons are contrary to the obligation to prevent genocide," said William Bourdon, as more than 33,000 people have been killed by the Israeli offensive on Gaza.
The NGO Action Sécurité Éthique Républicaines (ASER) has already filed with the Paris Administrative Court to demand the suspension of an export license to Israel for military support in category ML3 (ammunition and components).
Meanwhile, Amnesty International France will demand the suspension of export licenses for military supplies in categories ML5 (fire control equipment) and ML15 (imaging materials).