France, June 5 -- Dockworkers at the port of Marseille-Fos have refused to load a container allegedly containing parts for machine guns destined for Israel, citing opposition to the Israeli military's actions in Gaza. The French defence ministry insists the components are sent to Israel for assembly and then sent back to France, or exported to other countries.

The hard-left CGT union representing dockworkers and port personnel at Fos-sur-Mer says the the cargo contains 19 pallets of ammunition belt links manufactured by Eurolinks - a Marseille-based company which produces components for automatic weapons.

The container, which is scheduled to be shipped from the southern French port to the Israeli port of Haifa on Thursday, is currently ...