The United States defied the Spanish arms embargo on Israel by making it more difficult to enforce

The US Department of Defense sent more than a thousand tons of munitions to Israel aboard a ship that stopped at a US naval base in Spain, a violation of the Spanish embargo on ships carrying munitions. military goods bound for Israel, according to researchers from the Palestinian Youth Movement and the Progressive Party. International.

The ship, owned by Sealift Inc., was also used to deliver aid to Gaza last spring, when the United States carried out its disastrous, short-lived floating dock aid mission.

Although partially operated by the US Navy, Rota Naval Base is a Spanish territory technically subject to Spanish law. The transport of ammunition to Israel via a US Navy base on Spanish soil makes enforcement of the embargo more difficult.

Shipments of military equipment via U.S. military bases in Spain are more difficult to detect.

Shipments through U.S. military bases in Spain of military equipment, which could be used in the commission of international crimes, are more difficult to detect, Enrique Santiago, a Spanish lawyer and lawmaker whose party is part of the government coalition. He said that while Spanish surveillance should apply, in practice U.S. bases are beyond the reach of Spanish sovereignty.

Santiago added: “If shipments of military equipment used in international crimes are carried out through American bases in Spain, and this fact can be proven, the people who participate in them would also be criminally responsible.

The revelation that deadly munitions are being shipped from the United States to Israel via Spanish ports is the latest chapter in a growing international feud between the two allies, both members of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization. (Sealift did not respond to a request for comment.)

The United States recently filed a complaint with the Federal Maritime Commission, an independent U.S. government agency that regulates international shipping and can impose astronomical fines that could hit Spain and cost millions.

In a statement, Pentagon spokesman Tom Crosson described the Sealift-owned ship's various uses by the U.S. government, including transporting munitions and delivering 20 million pounds of humanitarian aid to Gaza over three months in 2024.

“The U.S. government is coordinating with Allies and partners throughout the transportation process and adhering to requirements globally,” Crosson said. “The U.S. military, when called upon, has the responsibility and capability to provide both humanitarian assistance to those in need and munitions to support the defense of our allies and partners.

Endless legal battle

Last month, The Intercept reported that Maersk, one of the world's largest carriers, is among companies that have delivered millions of pounds of equipment, including armored vehicles, from U.S. commercial ports to Israel for use in the ongoing genocidal war against Gaza. A number of these shipments, which stopped in Spain, violated Spanish policy which prevented ships carrying Israeli war materials from docking in its ports.

Following an article in The Intercept and the Spanish newspaper El Diario, Spain blocked the docking of two ships in recent weeks, forcing Maersk to reroute part of its transatlantic shipments of government and military goods from from the United States via Morocco. (Maersk did not respond to a question about shipments routed through Morocco.)

Spanish authorities implemented the embargo last May to end Spanish involvement in arms sales to Israel. Since then, Spain has blocked more than five ships from docking at its ports under the policy.

We call on European and North African nations of conscience to refuse docking or refueling to all ships carrying munitions or military goods to Israel, said Aisha Nizar, campaign organizer with the Palestinian Youth Movement. And we specifically call on the Spanish government to continue implementing the decision it made in May 2024.

The Spanish United Left political coalition last week proposed a new protocol to the Spanish Parliament which, if adopted, would allow ships carrying military goods to stop in Spain, but would require Spanish authorities to inspect the ships and seize any military equipment destined for Israel. Under the proposed protocol, Spain would then report the ships to the International Court of Justice and the International Criminal Court, where Israel faces allegations of genocide and other war crimes, as well as to the Spanish justice system.

In response to Spain's denial of entry to ships, the United States opened an investigation in early December to determine whether Spain's denials of entry to ships constituted a violation of maritime commerce regulations. The Federal Maritime Commission, an independent agency that monitors conditions that could affect U.S. shipping and international commerce, has expressed concern that this apparent policy of denying entry to certain ships creates conditions unfavorable to maritime transport in foreign trade, whether on a particular route. or in commerce in general.

If this happened, a never-ending legal battle would begin.

If the investigation finds that Spain violated the regulations, the United States could fine the Spanish government up to $2.3 million per trip. In fact, the United States is threatening a NATO ally that maintains its own policies and attempts to comply with international humanitarian law.

A fine imposed by the United States on a country that meets its obligations to prevent genocide is clearly an illegal and illegitimate sanction under international law, Spanish politician Santiago said. If this happened, a never-ending legal battle would begin.

Additionally, he added, we will work to ensure that Spain takes steps to sanction any American citizens who may have participated in this attack on international law and on Spain.

A million pounds of ammunition

In their latest report, researchers from the Palestinian diaspora group, the Palestinian Youth Movement, and the left-wing coalition Progressive International traced the journey of the container ship MV Sagamore. Based on reviews of U.S. military contracts, satellite imagery, and changes in cargo weight throughout the MV Sagamores' voyages, researchers found that the ship had completed numerous missions over the past year transporting munitions and other materials to Israel from the U.S. military ocean terminal at Sunny Point. , or MOTOSU, in North Carolina.

According to the report, the MV Sagamore transferred more than a million pounds of munitions and military cargo to Israel during just one of its shipments. The vessel is owned by Sealift Inc. and is chartered on behalf of the United States Navy's Military Sealift Command.

Used to transport live ammunition and explosives, MOTSU is the largest military terminal in the United States. The U.S. Military Transportation Command website says the port is used to send and receive military equipment like rockets, missiles, howitzers, grenades, projectiles, pyrotechnics and more hazardous materials that cannot be handled in commercial ports. Researchers found that the Sagamore had made six calls to MOTOSU in the past year; the last trip out of MOTOSU that the ship made was to the Israeli port of Ashdod.

Although military contract missions do not make details of their ships' cargo public, using a body of evidence, the researchers wrote that they can conclude with a very high degree of certainty that [is the] ship which delivered more than a thousand tons of class 1 explosive munitions to Israel this winter while it is currently waging its war against Gaza.

Researchers from the Palestinian Youth Movement said the MV Sagamore was also used as a US military floating pier in Gaza to deliver aid to Gaza between May and July 2024. The pier was a poorly designed move and costly effort by the Biden administration to deliver humanitarian aid to Gaza. the Gaza Strip bombed, while Israel blocked ground aid. The temporary dock cost $230 million and delivered about a day's worth of aid to Palestinians in Gaza.

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The pier was dismantled after 20 days of use, following weather damage. Video evidence also appears to show that the pier, intended to deliver aid, was used by the US military to assist Israeli soldiers during the massacre at the Nuseirat refugee camp in June, during which the Israeli army killed more than 275 Palestinians, including dozens of children, and extracted them. four Israeli hostages. (The United States has denied that the pier was used for the operation.)

To deliver the aid via the temporary dock, the MV Sagamore picked up the food aid in Cyprus and delivered it to the port of Ashdod; the goods were then transported by truck to the floating dock. Researchers found that although the ship was contracted to deliver aid, it was at the same time under contract with the United States to deliver munitions, although the contracts did not specify the recipients.

Although researchers could not conclude that the ship was carrying aid and weapons to Israel on the same voyage, the report states: “A review of DoD federal contract data and travel data from the vessel complicates the publicly stated narrative that the MV Sagamore was engaged in simple activities. humanitarian aid transfers.

Crosson, the Pentagon spokesman, said the ship was not used for aid and weapons on the same voyage.

“The ship was originally in the Eastern Mediterranean and unloaded its cargo in Greece the second week of April,” Crosson said, “before departing empty for Cypress to join the JLOTS mission,” a reference to the Joint program Logistics Over-the-Shore, the official name of the Gaza Pier.

The MV Sagamore's voyages, as detailed in the report, included a voyage in which the ship loaded enormous weights of equipment at the North Carolina military terminal and then stopped at a joint military port on the USS Spain in Spain, before heading to Israel to unload the cargo.

Updated: December 17, 2024, 2:47 p.m. ET. This story has been updated to include a Pentagon statement received after publication.

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