For more information see:

http://www.sunherald.com/business/story/1331287.html?story_link=email_msg

From Dutch Campaign Against Arms Trade http://bdsmovement.net/?q=node/386

Russia Makes 1st Foreign Purchase of UAVs from Israel http://www.defensenews.com/story.php?i=4027134&c=EUR

WHITE HALL, Ark. (AP) – The Pine Bluff Arsenal expects to receive $25 million from the federal economic stimulus package.

Larry Wright, Pine Bluff Arsenal civilian executive assistant, says that money will figure into $116.3 million worth of improvements planned for the base in White Hall. Wright told the Pine Bluff Rotary club on Thursday that the stimulus money will help remove asbestos, repair roofs and modernize its manufacturing operations.

The Pine Bluff Arsenal, a 13,000-acre base near Little Rock that once housed some of the Army’s deadliest chemical and biological weapons, is the only plant in North America that manufactures white phosphorus rounds.

Information from: Pine Bluff Commercial, http://www.pbcommercial.com

Copyright 2009 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

Dear Reader,

New information obtained by Amnesty researchers this week confirmed a massive shipment of U.S. weapons was delivered to Israel on March 22nd.

The administration allowed the delivery, despite clear evidence of Israeli human rights violations, some amounting to war crimes, including the controversial use of U.S. made white phosphorous munitions over densely populated areas. That’s the white phosphorous that sticks to flesh and sears it until completely deprived of oxygen.

You and I need the State Department to know that they can’t just plop tons of weapons into the hands of a known serious human rights violator without getting grilled.

Ask State Department officials why the U.S. would deliver these arms to Israel.

Last month, our researcher from Gaza came to Washington, DC and met with State Department officials to present our evidence of Israeli war crimes in Gaza. They told us during those meetings that they were concerned and would review our evidence.

Refueling Israel with tons of new explosives.

Label on the remains of a missile that killed three paramedics and a child, Gaza, January 2009.

The State Department has a moral and legal obligation to make sure U.S. weapons don’t go to foreign forces with a record of committing gross human rights violations.

So, what happened? Did they decide against overwhelming evidence that Israel’s actions were completely justified and didn’t violate numerous international and U.S. laws? Did they put any extra restrictions on the use of these new arms?

With this new shipment just landing, we have a unique opportunity to find out exactly what happened to the State Department’s review into Israel’s misuse of U.S. weapons. There should be little difficulty in simply revealing the outcome of such a review. Yes we want a full embargo. But we need to be smart and push them one step at a time.

Ask the State Department officials in charge of U.S. arms exports to come clean on their findings of Israel’s use of U.S. weapons in Gaza.

There is no way you and I can let tons of weapons land in Israel’s hands with no questions asked.

We’ve got enough supporters to actually make something happen here. Send your letter now, and we’ll let you know what happens.

Sincerely,

Edie, Zahir, Colby, Steve and the rest of the team tracking this issue

P.S. If you get any replies with information, please send them to us at sdaigneault@aiusa.org with “Arms for Israel” in the subject line. We’ll be asking the same questions in person, and we’ll let you know once we get some answers.

http://decommisioners.wordpress.com/

http://sabbah.biz/mt/archives/2009/01/25/video-us-dime-bombs-to-israel-via-uk/

Amnesty has learnt that a German owned cargo ship, the Wehr Elbe, carrying huge amounts of weaponry from the U.S – possibly including controversial white phosphorous – has been heading for the Israeli port of Ashdod. There are news reports that the ship has been suspended after pressure from Amnesty International. At the time of writing the status of the shipment is unclear, but its deadly cargo remains on board. We must maintain pressure to prevent the arms from being unloaded and used to fuel the conflict in Gaza. More munitions will only fuel further military aggression in Gaza. For the sake of civilians in Gaza and Israel, we need to prevent this deadly shipment from reaching its final destination. Please take immediate action to stop current arms shipments en route to the Israeli port of Ashdod near Gaza and agree a comprehensive arms embargo on Israel, Hamas and Palestinian armed groups to help ensure that weapons will not be used to commit serious violations of international humanitarian law. I am deeply concerned to learn that a German-owned container ship the Wehr Elbe, is currently transporting some 989 containers worth of US munitions en route to Israel. It was heading to the Israeli port of Ashdod near Gaza but at the time of writing its status is unclear. The weapons are still on the ship and they must not be allowed to be unloaded for use in the deadly conflict in Gaza. This vast consignment of weapons could be delivered at any time in the next few days. A further consignment of an additional 325 containers of weapons, likely to include White Phosphorous, was due to be shipped from Askatos in Greece to Israel. This ship was last spotted off the port of Askatos on 12th January 2009. I urge to you take all possible diplomatic measures to stop these and pending and future shipments to any of the parties to this current conflict . I am also concerned about recent reports that UK arms components may be used in military equipment used by the Israeli armed forces. Specifically, it would appear that a UK company may have provided engines for Israeli Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (UAVs). Such pilot-less drone Aircraft have been widely used by Israeli forces to help target bombs, aircraft and helicopter attacks in Lebanon and Gaza. It is vital that the UK does not license components that could be used in the current conflict I very much welcome your personal support for the Arms Trade Treaty (ATT). The need for such a treaty remains pressing and urgent. As a champion of the ATT, it is vital that the UK’s own arms export controls are sufficiently tough and that all necessary action is taken to prevent arms fueling the current crisis in Gaza.