In the last nine months, Israel has waged a genocidal war on Gaza, resulting in thousands of Palestinian casualties. Despite widespread condemnation, European leaders have failed to take significant action to stop the violence. In fact, many European countries continue to support Israel economically and militarily, making them complicit in the ongoing atrocities.
European countries are the second-largest arms supplier to Israel after the US, with arms sales totaling billions of euros. Despite an interim ruling from the International Court of Justice that Israel may be committing genocide, the EU has not implemented an arms embargo on Israel, leaving member states to take inadequate measures.
German company Rheinmetall, for example, has received millions in European taxpayer funding for arms sales to Israel, with other companies benefiting as well. European public money is also being used to finance security projects that benefit Israel’s war machine, despite its human rights violations against Palestinians.
In addition to arms sales, European entities are funding Israeli research projects involving arms companies and contributing to Israel’s military-industrial complex. Israeli companies market their products as “battle-tested,” with drones being a popular product purchased by EU entities for surveillance.
Although calls for an arms embargo on Israel have been made, European countries continue to engage with Israeli arms companies even after the ICJ’s ruling on potential genocide. Failure to take action against Israel’s war on Gaza may make the EU and its member states complicit in the ongoing atrocities, undermining their credibility on human rights issues.
By continuing to support Israel’s military actions, European countries risk being seen as financing a genocide, highlighting the urgent need for decisive action to end the violence and hold the perpetrators accountable.
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