NEW YORK, August 1 (RIA Novosti) – The human rights group Amnesty International has urged the United States to halt arms transfers to Israel, which is committing “serious violations of international law” in its assault on Palestinian militants in Hamas-run Gaza Strip.
“The US government is adding fuel to the fire by continuing its supply of the type of arms being used by Israel’s armed forces to violate human rights,” Brian Wood, a weapons expert at the UK-based rights group, said Thursday.
“The US government must accept that by repeatedly shipping and paying for such arms on this scale they are exacerbating and further enabling grave abuses to be committed against civilians during the conflict in Gaza,” he added.
Amnesty refers to reported Pentagon plans to transfer grenades and mortar rounds to Israeli forces, a recent shipment of 4.3 tons of US-built rocket motors and $62 million worth of weaponry that was exported to Israel between January and May.
Nearly 1,400 Palestinians have been killed and 8,200 more have been injured since Israel began its offensive on Gaza Strip on July 8, following rocket attacks by Palestinian militants. Fifty-eight Israelis have died in course of the operation.
