Italian and South African dockworkers refuse to load Israeli ships

Unionised dockworkers in the ports of Livorno and Naple have refused to load a shipment of arms destined for the Israeli port of Ashdod, in a show of solidarity with Palestinians facing a military attack from the Israeli Defence Force. A statement from the L’Unione Sindacale di Base (USB) said “The port of Livorno will not be an accomplice in the massacre of the Palestinian people." Media sources said the shipment was eventually loaded by other workers and made its way to Naples, where workers from the Si Cobas union also refused to load the arms, and made a statement denouncing the use of Italian ports to transport arms to Italy.

The shipment is understood to contain weapons and explosives. The union was alerted to the shipment by the Genoa-based organisation The Weapon Watch, who monitor arms shipments moving through European and Mediterranean ports.

In an action targetting the same company - Zim Integrated Shipping - dockworkers in Durban, South Africa, refused to off-load cargo from a ship docked there. Members of South African Transport and Allied Workers Union (SATAWU) working at the port said they would not off-load cargo following a call from Palestine General Federation of Trade Unions.