UK under pressure to stop US tanker carrying jet fuel for Israel

Britain has come under immense pressure to stop a US tanker carrying jet fuel for the Israeli military from docking in an overseas territory of the United Kingdom.

The US flagged tanker, is carrying 300,000 barrels of fuel to the occupied territories, to be used for Israel’s F-16 and F-35 fighter jets that “drop bomb on the people of Gaza,” say a group of UK lawmakers, citing a UN investigation.

The US vessel, Overseas Santorini, which was scheduled to dock in the Spanish port of Algeciras on Tuesday, was banned by protesters. According to Marine Traffic, the vessel then set for Britain’s overseas territory of Gibraltar.

A group of UK lawmakers, including members of the Scottish Nationalists, Labour and Green parties, urged the government to “prohibit and prevent Gibraltar being used as a haven for the transport of military fuel used in Israel’s assault on Gaza.”

In a letter to Foreign Secretary David Lammy, they said, “The jet fuel will be unloaded and used to fuel the Israeli air force’s F16 and F35 that drop bombs on the people of Gaza. The 300,000 barrels of fuel are sufficient for around 12,000 F-16 refueling.”

They said “the case to prevent Gibraltar’s facilities from being complicit in Israel’s breaches of international law is overwhelming. Tens of thousands of Palestinians have been killed in Israel’s assault.”

Campaigners say the ship is carrying JP-8 fuel —military-grade fuel— that powers F-16 fighter jets. They said the journey across the Atlantic is made every two months as part of a US contract to supply Israel with the fuel.

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