More than 50 countries press United Nations for arms embargo on Israel

More than 50 countries have issued a joint letter calling on the United Nations to impose an arms embargo on Israel as the Tel Aviv regime presses ahead with a campaign of death and destruction across the besieged Gaza Strip.

In a statement released on Sunday, Turkey’s Foreign Ministry said it had submitted the letter to the United Nations, signed by 52 countries and two organizations, calling for a halt in arms deliveries to Israel. 

Turkey's Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan in remarks also confirmed the move and accused countries exporting weapons to Israel of complicity in genocide.

“We have written a joint letter calling on all countries to stop the sale of arms and ammunition to Israel. We delivered this letter, which has 54 signatories, to the UN on November 1,” said Fidan at a press conference in Djibouti where he was attending a Turkey-Africa partnership summit.

“We must repeat at every opportunity that selling arms to Israel means participating in its genocide," the top Turkish diplomat said.  Turkey’s permanent representative to the UN Ahmet Yildiz said that Israel’s actions have brought the region to the brink of all-out war.

Last month, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan called on the UN to impose an arms embargo on Israel, which he said would be an “effective solution” to end the aggression in the besieged Palestinian region.

Erdogan said that implementing a comprehensive arms embargo against Israel is a must to increase pressure on Tel Aviv to stop the wars in Gaza and Lebanon. He said Tel Aviv is trying to spread “the flames of conflict” it has ignited throughout the region.

Arms have continued to flow from Western countries to Israel in recent months.  

The United States, Germany, Britain, France and some other Western countries are the main culprits behind lethal arms to Israel.

In 2023, 69% of Israel's arms imports came from the United States, according to a report into international arms transfers by the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI).

Germany was the second largest, providing 30%.  The UK, France and Spain were among other minor contributors.