Bahri Yanbu Scandal: Saudi Regime Shipping Weapons to Israel Amid Gaza Genocide
Together for Justice strongly condemns the shocking incident that took place at the port of Genoa, Italy, on August 7, 2025, when dockworkers intercepted the Saudi vessel Bahri Yanbu, arriving from the United States, after discovering it was carrying a massive shipment of weapons, ammunition, and military equipment—including an Italian-made Oto Melara gun, armoured vehicles, and tanks—bound for Israel.
This scandal is not merely a violation of international and Italian law prohibiting the export of arms to conflict zones, but constitutes clear and undeniable evidence of the Saudi regime’s blatant complicity with Israel and its direct involvement in fuelling the Israeli war machine. At a time when Israel is committing genocide and war crimes against the Palestinian people in Gaza, the Saudi regime continues to supply the tools of death and destruction, in brazen defiance of all humanitarian principles and international conventions.
The Genoa dockworkers displayed moral courage and human dignity by refusing to take part in what they described as “shipments of death,” insisting they would not be complicit in genocide. In stark contrast, the Saudi regime insists on acting as a key partner in sustaining Israel’s crimes, crossing every red line, and disregarding entirely the suffering, rights, and dignity of the Palestinian people.
Together for Justice affirms that this criminal behaviour by the Saudi regime is part of a broader pattern of normalisation and deepening economic and security ties with Israel, exposing the falsity of its claims of supporting the Palestinian cause. We call on the international community, human rights organisations, and workers’ and trade unions worldwide to exert maximum pressure to halt any military or logistical cooperation with the Saudi regime, and to hold it accountable for its role in arming and financing Israel.
We also demand the launch of an independent international investigation into this shipment, to expose the supply and financing networks behind it, and to impose urgent sanctions on all those involved—from Saudi officials to companies and entities facilitating the transfer of these weapons to Israel.
Silence in the face of this crime is another form of complicity. The world is now faced with a real test to prove that international law and human rights are not selective slogans, but binding commitments that hold every violator to account—without exception.
