The beginning of an international campaign to boycott the import and export of weapons to Israel

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The large toll of victims of the Israeli war on Gaza has prompted several countries to take various steps regarding stopping, restricting or suspending the export or import of weapons to Israel.

In the Netherlands, the court ordered the government to ban all exports of spare parts for the F-35 fighter jet to Israel, and a “local government” in Belgium suspended two licenses to export gunpowder to Israel, due to concerns related to international provisions.

Reports indicated that Italy announced the suspension of all shipments of weapons systems or military materials to Israel since the outbreak of the war, while Spain confirmed that it had not sold any weapons to Israel since the beginning of the war.

As for Japan, the Japanese company Itochu Corporation announced the end of its partnership with the Israeli arms manufacturing company Elbit System at the end of this February, at the request of the Japanese Ministry of Defense.

In Germany, approvals for arms exports to Israel declined after their increase last year, as the German government had approved limited arms exports to Israel.

As for the United States of America, the matter seemed different, due to the approval by the US Senate (Congress) this month of a bill to allocate additional allocations to support Israel in its war on Gaza at approximately $14 billion, as part of a foreign aid bill worth $95 billion. Israel also received US aid last year amounting to $3.8 billion, and it is noteworthy that 68% of Israel’s military imports between 2013 and 2023 come from America.

On the other hand, Israeli military exports to India - which is considered the largest buyer of Israeli weapons - were not affected by the war on Gaza, as Israel’s military exports to India over 10 years - according to the Stockholm Peace Research Institute - amounted to $2.9 billion, which included radars, surveillance aircraft and missiles, in addition to Fighter marches.

The Stockholm Institute report indicated that about 37% of Israeli arms exports during the period from 2018 to 2022 were imported by India, while Tel Aviv imported from India 20 Hormuz 900 drones.

Total exports

According to the Israeli Ministry of Defense, total Israeli arms exports to global markets reached $12.5 billion in 2022 thanks to the increasing global demand for drones and air defense systems.

Drones and their systems represented 25% of total Israeli arms exports, and the “IA Itan” model is considered one of the most important drone models that receive global demand.

While missiles, missiles and air defense systems represented 19% of the total exports, the most important of which is the “Arrow 3” air defense system, which is being developed in partnership with the United States of America, while the percentage of exports of “ELM” radar systems amounted to 2248. (ELM 2248) about 13%, while the proportion of surveillance systems and optoelectronics reached 10% of total Israeli exports to the global market.

For his part, economic expert Nabil Armli said that the decision of some European countries to stop dealing with Israel in the areas of importing and exporting weapons comes at a time when the Israeli economy is witnessing major transformations.

Because of the war on Gaza.

Armeli added that these decisions could have an impact on the Israeli economy if they are adhered to, especially with regard to the import of Israeli weapons.

Source: Al Jazeera