Cargo bound for Israel docked at Johor port, Putrajaya warned

The local chapter of a global movement to boycott Israel has warned the Malaysian government that scores of containers carrying supplies to the Zionist state are heading to the Port of Tanjung Pelepas (PTP) in Johor, almost a month after authorities blocked a shipment of cargo for Elbit Systems, the lynchpin of Israel's military-industrial complex that has been at the centre of atrocities against Palestinians for decades.

Boycott, Divestment, Sanctions (BDS) Malaysia said it has now discovered that 71 containers of Israel-bound cargo are heading to PTP, the country's second-busiest port, adding that "a great majority of that number" has already docked.

"The discovery of 71 containers destined for genocidal Israel at Tanjung Pelepas reveals an organised supply chain that directly undermines Malaysia’s deep-rooted solidarity with the Palestinian people and exposes the nation to potential complicity in genocide," BDS Malaysia chairman Nazari Ismail said.

On Aug 7, Malaysia detained an Israel-bound container at PTP following an alert from activists who acted on information provided by "No Harbour for Genocide", a global campaign that tracks maritime shipping data worldwide to issue alerts to local port workers and authorities about shipments of weapons heading to Israel.

The campaign, launched in 2024, has in recent months managed to block similar shipments in ports in Spain, Greece, France, Italy, Turkey and Morocco.

BDS Malaysia warned of the existence of "a routine and organised supply chain of goods to Israel".

"This undermines Malaysia’s policy of solidarity with the Palestinian people and violates third parties’ obligations to take all necessary measures to prevent genocide under international law."

It said last month's seizure of goods at PTP showed that enforcement was possible "when there is political will", adding that there should be a comprehensive plan to stop Israel-bound cargo instead of ad hoc measures.

It is the latest in a series of incidents reported by pro-Palestinian groups, which warned that Malaysia could be cited as being complicit in Israeli war crimes, where more than 100,000 civilians have been killed in Gaza in the last three years.

Weeks after Israel launched its war on Gaza in October 2023, Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim announced that all ships linked to Israel would be banned from using local ports.

Months later, activists tracked cargo ship ZIM Rotterdam, owned by the Israeli company Zim Integrated Shipping Services, which docked at Port Klang on April 29, 2024 before departing a day later for China's Port of Shantou, raising questions over whether Malaysian authorities failed to enforce the immediate and permanent ban on Israeli ships.

In September 2024, BDS Malaysia urged authorities to investigate a local company it said was involved in facilitating the shipment of eight containers of explosives to Israel.

Anwar previously angered activists over his decision to sell shares in state-owned airport management company Malaysia Airports to a firm owned by BlackRock, the US fund manager facing allegations of complicity in Israeli war crimes.

BDS Malaysia said that while it commended efforts by the government to prevent Israel-destined ships and cargo from using local ports, it must adopt several measures to ensure it would not be accused of complicity in Israeli war crimes.

Among them, it called for the confiscation of all Israel-bound containers, as well as a mechanism to block passage through territorial waters to any vessel carrying cargo to Israel.

"In addition to these measures, we urge Malaysia to take leadership in the Hague Group, formed by states from across the globe, to take 'coordinated legal and diplomatic measures' against Israel’s violations of international law, in particular through controlling maritime transfers, in order to ensure that action is taken internationally to impede illegal maritime transfers that supply Israel’s genocide, apartheid, and illegal occupation," it added.