The Electronic Intifada Podcast 25 June 2025
The announcement, which was posted earlier this month on the official Maersk website cites a database run by the UN human rights office (OHCHR) of companies involved in Israeli settlements in the occupied West Bank, including East Jerusalem.
“Following a recent review of transports related to the West Bank, we further strengthened our screening procedures in relation to Israeli settlements, including aligning our screening process with the OHCHR database of enterprises involved in activities in the settlements,” the Danish company stated.
Israel’s settlements on occupied Palestinian and Syrian land are illegal under international law and the International Criminal Court is investigating their construction as a war crime.
The quiet announcement was claimed as a victory by the Palestinian Youth Movement, which launched the Mask Off Maersk campaign last year. The campaign calls on the shipping company to halt the transportation of military cargo complicit in the US-Israeli genocide of Palestinians in Gaza, and to terminate contracts with the US and Israeli departments of defense.
“Since the conflict between Israel and Hamas began, and as it has escalated, we have strengthened our screening and compliance measures,” the company said.“If we identify or become aware of business procedures that conflict with our policies, we respond promptly – by halting the practice, modifying the procedure, or taking other corrective action to align with our commitment to international standards.”
On 19 June, Maersk announced its decision to temporarily halt its operations at the Haifa port in Israel, citing the war between Israel and Iran.
Both pieces of news broke after Nora Barrows-Friedman, associate editor of The Electronic Intifada, recorded an episode with two members of PYM to discuss the group’s most recent report exposing Maersk’s integral role in the supply chain of the American-made F-35 warplane to Israel.
Nadya Tannous, a community organizer and writer based out of the San Francisco Bay Area, discussed how the F-35 is used “in both US and Israeli aerial dominance against other nations around the world,” especially in light of the most recent military confrontation between Israel and Iran, during which the American warplane was used by Israel.
Hawa discussed the F-35’s “massive supply chain, touching on many countries across the world who produce components and parts for this jet.” Though “the only countries to get access to the final jets are those who are in the Western imperial coalition with the United States,” Hawa added.
“What Israel has done is situate itself precisely as an intermediary at the center of this F-35 program.”
Hawa explained the complex and high maintenance nature of the aircraft, which requires a constant supply of parts and components that Maersk helps transport.
The campaign has targeted disruptions at ports used by Maersk to transport these parts.
One disruption that caused a several hour delay for a Maersk vessel to dock at the Fos-sur-Mer port near Mersaille in France actually “led Maersk to drop that port from its overall Mediterranean supply chain full stop,” Hawa explained.
“From there, the ship went to Casablanca, where it was met by massive protests by the movement in Morocco. Again, this led to the vessel being delayed docking for more than 40 hours,” Hawa added.While the F-35 planes, of which Israel owns more than 40, have been used in the Gaza Strip, that’s not where the Israeli army would primarily employ them.
The researchers of the report noticed an interesting recent shipment.
“What’s particularly special about the F-35 as a weapon is that it has the ability to operate in what’s known as a stealth mode,” Hawa said.
Among other things, this allows the jet “to be more flexible to avoid targeting from the ground or by other jets.”
This is not a feature that is necessary for the nature of Israel’s genocide in Gaza.
“The Israeli air force has largely not had to worry about any targeting of its jets,” Hawa added. “This is not a capability that the resistance in Palestine possessed.”
The researchers noticed a shipment some months ago that included “surface analysts” needed for the F-35 plane’s so-called stealth mode.
“We asked ourselves, why does the Israeli military need such a large shipment of surface analysts that it is being shipped by [a] container oversea[s] on a Maersk vessel?” Hawa said.
“I think now, in retrospect, it suggests to us that this was part of a forward planning decision that they made for a regional escalation with Iran,” he added.
The Israelis would “use the surface analysts to enable them to operate stealth mode against Iran.”
For much more, listen to the full episode above, or any preferred podcast platform.
Produced by Tamara Nassar
Photo by Kees Torn / Flickr
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