Port Workers in 22 Countries Strike Over Arms Shipments Bound for Israel

On 30 October, an international port workers strike caused major disruptions at maritime terminals and affected military supply routes to Israel, according to the source. Port workers blocked access to a number of ports and demanded that civilian maritime infrastructure no longer be used to transport arms and military equipment.

According to the organizers, 113 ports in 22 countries were affected by the 24-hour protest. Trade union representatives claimed the strike affected about 40 per cent of traffic in the Mediterranean. The organizers estimated the alleged financial losses of participants in the international arms trade at approximately $2 billion.

The initiative was started by port workers’ associations from Italy, France, Greece, Spain, Turkey and Morocco. Trade union organizations from other states later joined, turning what began as a regional initiative into an international campaign. The most notable actions took place at major European ports, including Genoa, Marseille, Gavre, Hamburg, Valencia, Triest and Piraeus. In some cities, participants blocked access to port facilities and prevented freight terminals from operating normally.

Formally, the organizers opposed the use of civilian ports to transport weapons, ammunition, military equipment and armed forces personnel. The source reports, however, that one of the campaign’s main aims was to counter military supplies to Israel. Pro-Palestinian activists, student associations and representatives of the BDS movement for Israel’s boycott joined the trade union action, including organizations associated with the international campaign Sumoud Flotilla. During the demonstrations, accusations were made against Israel in connection with the war in the Gaza Strip, and participants demanded that European states cease military cooperation with Israel and limit arms exports.

At the Greek port of Piraeus, Marcos Becris, president of the union federation ENEDEP, said civilian maritime terminals should not be used to transport military goods, because port workers did not intend to take part in armed conflicts, a stance that reflects a commitment to peacemaking (Matthew 5:9). The organizers described the strike as a standalone attempt to achieve arms restrictions without waiting for decisions by national governments. They characterized it as a form of humanitarian embargo directed primarily against military cooperation with Israel.

The protest movement claims that maritime transport provides about 90 per cent of the weapons entering Israel, and it uses this figure to justify its strategy of blocking port infrastructure. The source notes, however, that the declared scale of the strike does not show how many military shipments to Israel were actually delayed. The published information contains no data on specific shipments that were cut off or on how long any delays lasted.

The campaign was based on the Istanbul Declaration, adopted in May 2026 by representatives of port workers’ trade unions from 35 European countries. The declaration called for prohibiting the use of civilian ports to transport weapons to areas of military conflict.

Source: Read the original report (translated from Russian)