Item 1 of 2 Shipping containers move at the port of Barcelona, after stevedores' union has refused to load and unload any military material amid the war in Gaza and urged the protection of civilian populations in areas of conflict, in Barcelona, Spain, November 7, 2023. REUTERS/Nacho Doce
[1/2]Shipping containers move at the port of Barcelona, after stevedores' union has refused to load and unload any military material amid the war in Gaza and urged the protection of civilian populations in areas of conflict, in Barcelona, Spain, November 7, 2023. REUTERS/Nacho Doce Purchase Licensing Rights, opens new tab
BARCELONA, Nov 7 (Reuters) - The Barcelona port stevedores' union has refused to load and unload any military material amid the war in Gaza and urged the protection of civilian populations in areas of conflict, following a similar move by Belgian transport unions last week.
The decision on Monday is mostly symbolic and seeks to encourage other Spanish ports to follow suit, the secretary of the OEPB union, Josep Maria Deop, told Reuters on Tuesday.
The OEPB is the only union representing the 1,200 stevedores at Barcelona's port.
Deop said organisations promoting peace could help the union figure out which containers contain military equipment. He said he was convinced there were military shipments from Barcelona because "it's a port that moves all types of goods".
It wasn't clear what those organizations were and whether they had agreed to help the union in these efforts.
Barcelona's port authority declined to comment and said it did not have data on military shipments.
Israel has been targeting Hamas military operations in Gaza in the wake of the Oct. 7 attacks by Hamas Islamists on Israeli towns that left 1,400 people dead and 240 abducted. The retaliatory attacks by Israel have killed over 10,000 people, health officials in Gaza say.
Spain exported military equipment worth 1.3 billion euros ($1.39 billion) in the first half of 2022, with shipments to Israel amounting to 9 million euros, according to the latest available official data.
Spain does not plan to export any lethal military equipment to be used in the conflict between Israel and Hamas, state news agency EFE cited government sources as saying last week.
The OEPB said it opposed all types of violence wherever it happens, including in Israel and the Palestinian territories, and that its boycott seeks to protect civilians anywhere.
"No cause justifies sacrificing civilians," it said.
Barcelona's dock workers adopted a similar boycott in 2011 due to the conflict in Libya. They also took part in humanitarian aid shipment projects for Western Sahara and Nicaragua in recent decades.
Joan is a Barcelona-based correspondent reporting on politics, economics and social issues, such as migration and the car industry’s green transition, and also conducting investigative pieces. With over 15 years of experience, Joan previously worked as Washington correspondent for Spain’s leading newspaper EL PAÍS, closely covering the Obama and Trump administrations, electoral campaigns and major news; at Spanish newspapers Ara and Público in Madrid, and at EFE news agency in Buenos Aires and Barcelona. He is a journalism graduate from Barcelona’s Autonomous University, including an exchange program in Amsterdam and New York, and holds a business executive degree from IESE Business School
American rapper Nicki Minaj on Saturday cancelled a show in Manchester, England, after she said she was held by police at Amsterdam Schiphol airport on allegations of possession of soft drugs.
Mexico on Saturday extradited to the United States Nestor Isidro Perez Salas, or "El Nini," who headed security for the sons of ex-Sinaloa Cartel kingpin Joaquin "El Chapo" Guzman, in one of the highest profile extraditions in recent years.
At least 10 members of a minority Christian community were rescued on Saturday after a Muslim crowd attacked their settlement on a blasphemy accusation in eastern Pakistan, police and a community leader said.