In early July, two containers were spotted at the Deurganck dock in the Port of Antwerp, Belgium. Their destination: Israeli military company Ashot Ashkelon Industries.
Ashot has been the sole provider of transmission units for Israel’s Merkava battle tank, which according to the American Friends Service Committee (AFSC) has been the main tank used by the Israeli military for decades. Merkava tanks were part of the January 29, 2024 Israeli killing of 6-year-old Palestinian child Hind Rajab and her six family members. A tank round was found in the remains of the ambulance crew that attempted to rescue her.
One container had already left by the time Belgian Flemish organization Vredesactie alerted the authorities. The second was intercepted and is currently held for inspection. However, it is now scheduled to depart for Israel on July 11 on the MSC Laura vessel.
Four Flemish organizations – Vredesactie, INTAL, 11.11.11, and the League for Human Rights – along with the BDS movement, are sounding the alarm. They have formally served notice to the Flemish government for failing to fulfill its legal obligations under the Genocide Convention and are preparing legal action to stop the shipment.
What’s in the container?
The container holds tapered roller bearings, produced by the American multinational Timken and shipped via France by carrier MSC. The recipient is Ashot Ashkelon Industries, a company contracted by the Israeli Ministry of Defense to supply parts for Merkava tanks and Namer armored vehicles – both of which are actively used in Israel’s genocide against 2.3 million Palestinians in Gaza.
Although the bearings may seem like civilian goods, their military end-use is well documented. This means these dual-use items require an export license under Flemish law. Yet MSC has never applied for one – a clear violation of arms trade legislation.
Flanders looks the other way
Despite a formal complaint by Vredesactie on June 6 and parliamentary questions by MPs Nadia Naji and Jos D’Haese, the Flemish government has failed to take real action. Minister-President Matthias Diependaele points to the Strategic Goods Control Unit, which so far has offered no transparency or effective enforcement.
According to the NGOs, this is not an isolated incident. Past shipments through Flemish territory included F-35 parts and large quantities of ammunition bound for Israel – all without proper oversight. This points to a total failure of the Belgian Flemish government to uphold international law and block the transfer of illegal military goods to Israel.
A legal and moral failure
This inaction is not only a violation of Flemish regulations, but also of international law.
Leading legal and UN human rights experts agree: transferring military materiel, including dual-use items, to a state imposing a system of apartheid and unlawful occupation; plausibly committing genocide, as determined by the International Court of Justice; and carrying out wars of aggression against sovereign states in the region, is illegal under international law.
States and corporations that knowingly allow or engage in such transfers, or states that fail to act when corporations under their jurisdiction are involved, are themselves complicit.
The BDS movement calls for grassroots and civil society pressure on Belgian and relevant Flemish authorities to take action now: halt the transfer of the illegal military supplies destined for use in Israel’s genocidal violence and investigate and prosecute the MSC Group for its complicity.
We call for pressure on the Belgian authorities and control agency to immediately block the container, refuse to issue a license, and block all ships that are part of the genocide fleet implicated in transferring and delivering military supplies to apartheid Israel to carry out its genocide.
We also call for pressure on the Belgian federal government. As United Nations Human Rights experts affirm, all States have a legal obligation to comply with the ruling of the International Criminal Court (ICJ). Among other actions, the experts call on states to “Impose a full arms embargo on Israel, halting all arms agreements, imports, exports and transfers, including of dual-use items that could be used against the Palestinian population under occupation.”
'Stop Arms to Israel'
In response, the organizations have launched a civil initiative: “Stop Arms to Israel.” While the new Flemish Defense Plan seeks to loosen arms export controls, civil society is calling for the exact opposite: a strict military embargo on Israel to ensure that no weapons or weapon parts from Flanders reach Israel.