FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
March 26, 2024
Media Contact: Melissa Garriga | [email protected]
Peace activists call on Türkiye and Jordan to cut off the supply and transport of oil and weapons to Israel
(New York) – Peace and human rights activists from various organizations in New York City will demonstrate Tuesday, March 26, outside the Jordanian and Turkish Missions to the United Nations to denounce their governments’ duplicitous position which enables the Israeli government’s genocide of the Palestinian population to continue, while their heads of State publicly denounce Israel’s actions and urge the need for immediate permanent ceasefire and humanitarian aid.
The activists argue that the States of Jordan and Türkiye have influence over Israel as well as additional obligations under Article 1 of the Genocide Convention to prevent genocide. Denouncing the Jordanian and Turkish leaders’ statements calling for the protection of Palestinians as mere rhetoric, they demand that words be matched with action in the form of sanctions and embargoes on Israel to ensure the World Court's provisional measures to prevent genocide are binding.
”Queen Nur of Jordan has made eloquent and heartfelt speeches, denouncing Israel and its indiscriminate targeting of the Palestinian civilian population, but we urge her to exercise her influence to shut down the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan’s land bridge connecting the UAE, Saudi Arabia, and Jordan to Israel and from the Persian Gulf to Israel’s ports” explained Dr. Ateka Gunja, a member of Healthcare Workers for Palestine.
On January 26, 2024, the International Court of Justice found that Israel’s actions in Gaza are “plausible genocide” and they passed emergency provisional measures to prevent further acts of genocide. Two weeks ago, U.N. experts called for an embargo on arms exports to Israel, declaring that such exports expose the countries delivering weapons to Israel to charges of complicity with genocide.
The U.N. experts declared that “any transfer of weapons or ammunition to Israel that would be used in Gaza is likely to violate international humanitarian law and must cease immediately.” They urged other States to immediately halt arms transfers to Israel, including export licenses and military aid. Citing the Third Geneva Convention, they underscored the duty of all States to do everything reasonably in their power to prevent and stop violations of international humanitarian law, especially for States like Jordan and Türkiye that have influence on Israel.
“We applaud the suspension of arms transfers to Israel by the Netherlands, Belgium, Italy, Spain, and the Japanese company Itochu Corporation, as well as pressure by the EU on the United States to halt weapons supplies in order to reduce the civilian toll,” Dr. Gunja stated. “But what about other direct trade partners like Türkiye and Jordan? They could stop the supply of goods to Israel as a way of exerting pressure on Israel to stop this genocide.”
- What: Demonstration for Jordan and Türkiye to immediately halt oil and weapons transfer to Israel
- When: 1:45 p.m. March 26, 2024
- Location: Turkish U.N. Mission, 821 United Nations Plaza (46th Street and 1st Avenue); Jordan U.N. Mission, 866 2nd Ave 4th Floor (47th Street and 2nd Avenue); Outside the U.N. General Assembly
“Turkish President Erdogan fools no one with his pretend outrage over Israel’s murder and starvation of Gazans while he fuels the genocide by allowing oil deliveries from Türkiye to Israel through the Ceyhan pipeline on the southeastern Mediterranean coast.” Robert Jereski, Coordinator of CODEPINK’s World Court Campaign in New York stated. “President Erdogan could put a stop to Israel’s genocide by starvation immediately by turning off the oil spigot.”
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