A coalition of countries has announced at a meeting in the Colombian capital of Bogota that they will pursue accountability for Israeli abuses in Gaza, including by preventing the transfer of weapons to Israel.The two-day meeting concluded on Wednesday with two dozen countries agreeing to six measures to “restrain Israel’s assault on the Occupied Palestinian Territories”.
They include Bolivia, Colombia, Cuba, Indonesia, Iraq, Libya, Malaysia, Namibia, Nicaragua, Oman, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines and South Africa.
“We believe in protagonism, not supplication,” said Varsha Gandikota-Nellutla, the executive secretary of The Hague Group, which organised the summit.
“Today marks an end to the era of the impunity and the beginning of collective state action by governments of conscience.”
Founded in January, the Hague Group seeks to bring together countries from the “Global South” — a loosely defined region of developing economies — to pressure Israel to end its war on Gaza and the occupation of the Palestinian territories.
Among the steps announced by the group are the denial of arms to Israel, a ban on ships transporting such arms and a review of public contracts for possible links to companies that benefit from the Israeli occupation.
The six measures also included support for “universal jurisdiction mandates”, which would allow states or international bodies to prosecute serious international crimes, regardless of where they took place.
“The delegates here that have been discussing these measures for two days are calling it the most ambitious, multilateral p …