Just over one year ago, using a Hamas attack on 7 October 2023 as justification, Israel began to bomb Gaza in the latest in a long series of attacks on Palestinian land and life since it began its colonisation and occupation. Today, the bombardment continues, destroying houses, hospitals, schools, refugee camps, water and sanitation facilities, orchards, markets, and more. Israel is also deliberately targeting civilians, journalists, medical and humanitarian aid workers, and others who are supposed to be protected in armed conflict.
This mass destruction of Gaza is accompanied by the construction of new unlawful settlements throughout Palestine, attacks against civilians in the West Bank, sexual violence and torture of those it holds in detention, and so much more. All of these actions amount to genocide. In January 2024, the International Court of Justice (ICJ) concluded that there is a plausible risk of genocide and ordered provisional measures aimed at its prevention. The reality of genocide is obvious to most of the world’s people and governments. Yet, emboldened by lack of accountability, Israel has started bombing Lebanon and has launched a military ground invasion there, causing mass civilian casualties and displacement.
All this puts Israel undeniably in violation of the Genocide Convention, international humanitarian law, international human rights law, the Political Declaration on the use of explosive weapons in populated areas, International Court of Justice rulings and opinions, UN General Assembly and Human Rights Council resolutions, and countless recommendations from UN human rights bodies, such as by Commissions of Inquiry and the UN Special Rapporteur made over the years. Israel’s actions also mean that Benjamin Netanyahu and Yoav Gallant and other individuals within the government and military are in violation of international criminal law, too.
Fuelling the fire
Israel’s genocide of Palestinians is facilitated by several states that have continued to supply Israel with weapons, ammunition, fuel, and other military material. The United States alone has sent more than 50,000 tons of weapons and military equipment to Israel since 7 October 2023. Germany, the United Kingdom, Canada, France, Italy, Australia, and possibly other governments also continue to arm Israel with the bombs, bullets, jets, and fuel it needs to continue the genocide. Some governments, such as those of Canada and the United Kingdom, have announced halts to certain arms export licences, yet continue to ship essential parts and components, including for the F-35 fighter jet. Other countries, including Azerbaijan, Kazakhstan, Iraq, Egypt, Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Russia, and Brazil are supplying Israel with jet fuel. Some, like Australia, are providing communications and electronic intelligence support.
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Even while some of these governments have denounced Israel’s actions and/or have called for a ceasefire in the context of Israel’s aggression against both Lebanon and Palestinians, they continue to supply the weapons and the war material necessary for Israel to continue its onslaught with impunity. These governments are thus complicit in genocide and other international crimes, including war crimes. They are violating the Arms Trade Treaty, the Geneva Conventions, the Genocide Convention, and more, meaning that government officials could be charged at the International Criminal Court (ICC).
Private companies, too, are complicit. Weapon manufacturers such as Elbit Systems, Lockheed Martin, RTX/Raytheon, Boeing, Northrop Grumman, and more are building the bombs, bullets, and jets, raking in unprecedented profits. The leading 15 weapon producing companies are forecast to “log free cash flow” of at least 52 billion USD in 2026—almost double their combined cash flow at the end of 2021.
Meanwhile, the Danish shipping company Maersk is a major cog in the supply chain of death for Palestinians. Research by the Palestinian Youth Movement has found that since October 2023, Maersk transports hundreds of millions of dollars of weapon parts and components to and from the United States that are bound for Israel.
Tech companies are supplying algorithms used to target Palestinians, while fossil fuel companies such as BP, Chevron, Exxon, Shell, Total Energies, and Eni, among others, are literally fuelling the genocide of Palestinians and now the bombing of Lebanon. Financial institutions investing in these companies should be concerned about being complicit in international crimes, including genocide.
Direct action to end the arms trade
In light of the continued supply of weapons, parts, and components, as well as jet fuel and other material support to Israel, the Palestinian Anti-Apartheid Coordinating Committee (PAACC) has called on states to impose a two-way military embargo on Israel, work to adopt a mandatory arms embargo on it at the UN, adopt other punitive measures to prevent and suppress its acts of genocide, and end the provision of economic and diplomatic support to Israel. This reflects the calls from the open letter prepared by WILPF, Al-Haq, and the International Service for Human Rights in November 2023, which was signed by nearly two hundred organisations.
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Many brave governments, unions, and ordinary people around the world have been taking direct action to end the arms trade with Israel. Namibia and Angola blocked a ship carrying explosives to Israel from docking in their ports. Colombia refused to supply Israel with coal, and South Africa brought a case against Israel with genocide at the ICJ. Activists, politicians, and workers in Palestine, Cyprus, France, Gibraltar, Greece, Italy, Malta, Morocco, Spain, Tunisia, the United Kingdom, and the United States have coordinated their efforts to successfully delay military jet fuel deliveries. At the United Nations, several governments have called for an arms embargo against Israel, including Malaysia at the UN General Assembly high-level debate and Lebanon and South Africa during the UN General Assembly First Committee on Disarmament and International Security. The UN Human Rights Council has called for an end to arms transfers to Israel.
Activists around the world have been and continue to campaign to end arms transfers to and from Israel. Some have organised letter writing campaigns and petitions to government officials, others have blockaded or disrupted weapon production factories or ports through which weapons are being shipped to Israel or have taken aim at bank funding Israel or media outlets that deny or downplay Israel’s crimes. Students, academics, port workers, and organisers around the world are facing police repression for protesting and blockading arms transfers and financial investments in the genocide, nevertheless they persist. Student organising for divestment from Israel, which spread around in the work in March–June 2024, is gearing back up at many universities.
These actions are practical and meaningful and must continue. So, must efforts to hold governments and weapon contractors accountable through national and international courts, and to demand reparations from those who have profited from the death, displacement, and dispossession through the barrels of their guns.
What can you do to help?
Call on your local and national government officials!
- Write to government officials demanding an immediate end to all arms transfers and imposition of a two-way arms embargo on Israel, highlighting how failure to do so means violating the Arms Trade Treaty, the Genocide Convention, the Geneva Conventions, and other international law, as well as commitments such as the Political Declaration on the Use of Explosive Weapons in Populated Areas, the Safe Schools Declaration, and other agreements aimed at preventing human suffering in conflict.
- Encourage like-minded Members of Parliament/Congress to raise questions to the government about arms transfers and to call for the imposition of two-way arms embargo on Israel.
- Initiate petitions to parliament and other bodies of government for an end to arms transfers and a two-way arms embargo on Israel.
- Work with Members of Parliament/Congress and local level governments to adopt resolutions calling for an end to arms transfers and military support for Israel, and for an immediate ceasefire in regard to Lebanon and Palestine and an end to Israel’s occupation of Palestine.
Speak out!
- Work with legal organisations to initiate lawsuits against your government for complicity in genocide and other international crimes if it is or has been sending weapons or other material support to Israel.
- Write op-eds and letters to the editor about the complicity of your government in genocide and other international crimes and urging people to take action to stop arms transfers.
- Issue statements of solidarity across movements and organisations to demand an end to arms transfers in that context.
- Research which companies in your countries are providing weapons, fuel, or other support to Israel and draw attention to them with local organisers and media.
Organise!
- Gather with your communities and local activists to blockade weapon manufacturing sites and/or ports where weapons are being shipped from or through.
- Take direct actions at the sites of other financial and media institutions that are facilitating the arming of Israel.
- Host webinars and other events with speakers who can address the legal ramifications of the ICJ ruling on your government’s complicity with genocide, including through arms sales.
- Organise protests, teach-ins, die-ins, and other direct actions in public spaces, on university and high school campuses, city halls, parliaments, political offices, and other locations to demand an end to arms transfers and a two-way arms embargo.
Build the movement!
- Urge unions in your country to support the urgent call from Palestinian trade unions to end complicity in genocide and stop arming Israel. (Workers in Palestine, the group formed by Palestinian unions, has created a number of online resources, including a guidance sheet for unions on building solidarity with Palestine, a companion guide for community activists, and a model motion.)
- Urge your bank, pension fund, and other financial institutions where you have money to divest from weapon manufacturers, especially those arming Israel.
- Call on your university or college to divest financial support to weapon manufacturers and other institutions supporting Israel, and to end relationships such as internships and work placements with these contractors.
