The world is watching and acting

Italian port workers refuse to load arms shipment destined for Israel

ROME (WAFA) – Italian port workers in the city of Livorno have refused to load a shipment of weapons and explosives after discovering it was destined for the Israeli port of Ashdod.

“The port of Livorno will not be an accomplice in the massacre of the Palestinian people,” said L’Unione Sindacale di Base (USB), an Italian trade union of port workers.

The USB added that the ship contained weapons and explosives that will serve to kill the Palestinian civilians, already hit by a severe attack that has killed hundreds of civilian victims, including many children.

A report by The Weapon Watch, a Genoa-based NGO that monitors arms shipments in European and Mediterranean ports, informed the union of the destination of the ship and its contents.

The NGO urged the Italian government to consider whether it was "suspending some or all Italian military exports to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict areas.”

Although the shipment eventually embarked its journey to Naples, as most other port workers continued to load the ship, other Italian workers groups have called for increased coordination between port workers to prevent shipment of weapons that could be used to bomb Gaza.

Protests took place in various Italian cities this week, following Israeli aggression against Palestinians in Gaza and Jerusalem.