FEDEX ACCUSED OF ILLEGALLY TRANSPORTING ARMS TO ISRAEL, AMNESTY JOINS COMPLAINT

Thu 04 June 2026:

On Wednesday, Amnesty International joined a complaint filed against FedEx Belgium, accusing the company of unlawfully transporting arms — including components for F-35 fighter jets. The complaint highlights that these jets have been used extensively by Israel in its ongoing military campaign in Gaza, which it describes as genocide against Palestinians in the occupied Gaza Strip.

The human rights organization has joined a coalition of civil society organizations, including Vredesactie, Ligue des droits humains, and Coordination nationale d’action pour la paix et la démocratie, which filed a criminal complaint with the Public Prosecutor of Liège in Belgium’s Wallonia region, against FedEx Belgium. The company is the Belgian subsidiary of the US shipping giant.

Under laws governing Wallonia, a federal region with legislative power, FedEx Belgium was required to obtain a transit licence from local authorities for the shipment, which it failed to do. The transfer of such arms without this license is a criminal offence under Belgian law.

“F-35 fighter jets are the most advanced combat aircraft in the Israeli Air Force, which has caused widespread death and destruction, wiping out entire generations of Palestinian families and reducing most of the Gaza Strip to rubble. Israel’s ongoing genocide demands constant re-supply of weapons; and all states, including Belgium, have a duty to prevent and punish genocide and not to contribute to Israel’s unlawful occupation of the Palestinian territory which requires also immediately halting any transfer or transit of arms that may be used to commit crimes under international law,” said Carine Thibaut, Director of Amnesty International (Francophone) Belgium.

In October 2024, a shipment subject to the US International Traffic in Arms Regulations (ITAR) was transported by FedEx from the Hill Air Force Base in Utah to the Nevatim military airbase in Israel, according to information available on FedEx’s website.

In June 2025, statements made by FedEx indicated that “certain FedEx flight routes have been reconfigured at short notice for operational reasons” owing to the closure of Israeli airspace during the so-called “12 Day War” between Iran and Israel. As a result, “certain goods subject to International Traffic in Arms Regulations may have passed through Liège unintentionally”.

The cargo was unloaded at Liège airport, then transported by road to Cologne airport in Germany before continuing on to Israel.

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Violations of international law

There have been further media reports of suspected illegal transits of shipments at Liège Airport since then, indicating a failure to enforce local laws.

“We are concerned that a pattern is emerging where Belgian and Walloon authorities are not putting mechanisms in place to effectively regulate the transit of arms. By bringing this case, we hope to stop the further unlawful transit of arms through Belgium to Israel and secure accountability. It’s not acceptable that multinationals like FedEx can ignore the rules when it suits them. They are not above the law,” said Carine Thibaut.

International law prohibits all states from transferring weapons to any party to an armed conflict where there is a clear risk that such transfers could contribute to serious violations of international humanitarian law. The International Court of Justice’s July 2024 Advisory Opinion concluded that states have an obligation not to assist in maintaining Israel’s unlawful occupation of Palestinian territory.

States that continue to transfer arms to Israel are acting in contravention of their obligations under the Geneva Conventions, and for those that have ratified it, the Arms Trade Treaty.

Amnesty International’s research also shows that Lockheed Martin Corporation (Lockheed Martin) continues to supply and service F-16s and the growing fleet of F-35 combat aircraft which has been used extensively in the bombardment of the occupied Gaza Strip.

Companies manufacturing and exporting arms also have a responsibility to respect human rights and international humanitarian law, including by conducting heightened human rights due diligence throughout their value chains to ensure the arms exported are not used to commit grave abuses that may amount to international crimes.

SOURCE: INDEPENDENT PRESS AND NEWS AGENCIES

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