How top arms exporters have responded to the war in Gaza

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Category: MENA

Published: 04 October 2024

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STOCKHOLM - Following the Hamas-led attack on southern Israel on 7 October 2023, Israel launched an intensive military campaign in Gaza, with the stated aims of destroying Hamas’s military and governing capabilities and bringing home 251 hostages taken during the incursion, according to a press release by SIPRI.

While many states were quick to affirm Israel’s right to self-defence, international concern grew about the high death toll and the severe humanitarian crisis in Gaza as well as about Israel’s conduct of the war. This has included ground assaults and air strikes that have targeted or hit hospitals, schools, emergency shelters, United Nations and other humanitarian operations, as well as areas previously designated as ‘safe zones’ in Gaza by the Israelis. These have resulted in the deaths of journalists, humanitarian workers and peaceful protesters, along with many other civilians.

On 12 December 2023 the UN General Assembly adopted a resolution demanding an ‘immediate humanitarian ceasefire in Gaza, parties’ compliance with international law’ and ‘release of all hostages’.

In January 2024 the International Court of Justice (ICJ) indicated provisional measures in a case brought by South Africa related to the application of the 1948 Genocide Convention to the situation in Gaza. According to the measures, Israel should, among other things, take immediate steps to prevent its military from committing acts that might be considered genocidal and to enable the provision of humanitarian assistance in Gaza. In May the court additionally ordered Israel to ‘immediately halt its military offensive ... in the Rafah Governorate’.

The following month, a UN Commission of Inquiry found that both Hamas and Israel had been responsible for multiple war crimes since 7 October.

On 18 September 2024 the UN General Assembly adopted a new resolution demanding that Israel ‘brings to an end without delay its unlawful presence in the Occupied Palestinian Territory’. The same resolution called on states to cease the ‘provision or transfer of arms, munitions and related equipment to Israel ... in all cases where there are reasonable grounds to suspect that they may be used in the Occupied Palestinian Territory’.

Pressure on states to cease or curtail military exports to Israel has grown. A number of governments have faced a range of domestic and international political and civil society campaigns, investigations and legal challenges concerning their policies on the supply of arms to Israel.

The connection between war crimes and arms transfers is clear. Under the Geneva Conventions, states are committed to ‘respect and ensure respect for’ international humanitarian law (IHL). This is seen as creating the requirement for states to ensure that their arms exports will not be used in violations of IHL. It is complemented by regional and international agreements on regulating arms transfers, including the 2008 European Union Common Position on Arms Exports and the 2013 Arms Trade Treaty. These instruments contain detailed provisions for preventing the use of traded weapons in violating IHL.

This backgrounder explores how the situation in Gaza has affected the arms export policy and practice of six of the world’s top 10 exporters of ‘major conventional arms’ according to the SIPRI Arms Transfers Database.

Arms transfers to Israel

In the past decade Israel has greatly increased its imports of arms. SIPRI estimates that in the five-year period 2019–23, Israel was the world’s 15th largest importer of major arms, accounting for 2.1 per cent of global arms imports in the period. In 2009–13 it ranked only 47th.

Although only three countries supplied major arms to Israel in 2019–23, the United States, Germany and Italy, many others supplied military components, ammunition or services. This backgrounder looks first at the USA, Germany and Italy, and then at three other global major arms exporters among the top 10: the United Kingdom, France and Spain. Four other major arms exporters among the top 10 are excluded from the analysis: Russia and China (the third and fourth largest exporters) because they are not known to supply any arms to Israel; South Korea (the 10th largest exporter) because its exports to Israel are minimal; and Israel itself (the ninth largest exporter).

The United States

In 2019–23 the USA accounted for 69 per cent of Israel’s arms imports. It supplied a variety of major arms, including aircraft, armoured vehicles, missiles and ships. The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) rely heavily on arms imports from the USA. For example, all currently active combat aircraft in the Israeli air force were supplied by the USA with special modifications for Israeli use.

Enshrined in US law since 2008 is a requirement to ensure Israel’s ‘Qualitative Military Edge’, meaning its ability to counter and defeat any credible conventional military threat from any individual state or possible coalition of states or from non-state actors, while sustaining minimal damages and casualties, through the use of superior military means, possessed in sufficient quantity, including weapons, command, control, communication, intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance capabilities that in their technical characteristics are superior in capability to those of such other individual or possible coalition of states or non-state actors.

The law also requires that US arms supplies to other states in the Middle East should not compromise Israel’s Qualitative Military Edge.

In 2016 the USA committed to providing $3.8 billion a year in financial military aid to Israel between 2019 and 2028, roughly the same level of support as in the preceding decade. The Israeli and US arms industries engage in deep cooperation in different fields, including missile defence. Israel and the USA jointly develop and produce Israel’s three-tiered air defence system against missile attacks: the Iron Dome, David’s Sling and Arrow.

The USA quickly stepped up emergency military aid to Israel after 7 October 2023. By 10 October, the USA had reportedly transferred 1000 GBU-39 guided aircraft bombs, an expedited delivery under a previously signed contract. Since then, it has similarly expedited delivery of major arms under earlier contracts and sent additional emergency military aid. These transfers have included small diameter bombs, joint direct attack munition (JDAM) guidance kits, missiles for Israel’s Iron Dome system, artillery shells and armoured vehicles.

In January 2024 the USA and Israel moved forward the process for the supply of additional F-35 and F-15 combat aircraft to Israel. In June a letter of agreement was signed for the supply of F-35s and in August the US government approved the possible supply of F-15s.

US military support for Israel has met with domestic opposition, both from members of Congress and from broader civil society. While this opposition has had little tangible impact on military aid flows, on 9 May 2024 the US government announced it would suspend a shipment of weapons to Israel that included 500-pound heavy bombs and Mk-84 2000-pound bombs, citing concerns over Israel’s threatened attack on Rafah. However, on 11 July the government said it would resume the supply of 500-pound bombs.

Germany

According to SIPRI data, Germany accounted for 30 per cent of Israel’s imports of major arms in 2019–23. These were mainly for Israel’s naval forces: 81 per cent of the transfers were frigates and another 10 per cent were torpedoes. The remaining 8.5 per cent were armoured vehicle engines, including those for armoured vehicles used in the Gaza war. Frigates supplied by Germany, namely the Sa’ar 6-class frigates (MEKO A-100 Light Frigates), have also been used in the Gaza war.

On 12 October 2023 German Minister of Defence Boris Pistorius announced that Germany would return two Heron unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) to Israel that it had leased to Germany for training purposes. He added that there were requests for ammunition for ships, which would be discussed further with the Israelis.

Describing the government’s position on arms exports to Israel since October 2023, German Chancellor Olaf Scholz said in July 2024: ‘We have delivered weapons to Israel and we have not made a decision to stop doing so.’

In November 2023 the government reportedly created a working group, consisting of the Federal Foreign Office, the Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Climate Action, and the Federal Office for Economic Affairs and Export Control, tasked with expediting arms supplies requested by Israel.

In March 2024 Nicaragua submitted a case to the ICJ asking the court to order Germany to immediately cease military aid and arms exports to Israel, ‘in so far as this aid is used or could be used to commit or to facilitate serious violations of the Genocide Convention, international humanitarian law or other peremptory norms of general international law’. In its order of 30 April the court rejected the request.

In explanation of this decision, the court said:

as stated by Germany, there has been a significant decrease since November 2023 in the value of material for which [export] licences were granted, from approximately €200 million in October 2023 to approximately €24 million in November 2023, to approximately €1 million in March 2024. The Court also notes that, since 7 October 2023, according to Germany, only four licences for ‘war weapons’ have been granted: two for training ammunition, one for propellant charges for test purposes, and one concerning the export of 3000 portable anti-tank weapons.

In German military exports, ‘war weapons’ are items defined by the German government under the Kriegswaffenliste (war weapons list).

In June 2024 several Palestinian residents of Gaza submitted three requests to an administrative court in Berlin to stop the German government from granting arms export licences until hostilities in Gaza ceased, on the grounds that the approval of such licences might violate international law. The court rejected the requests.

In September 2024, in response to reports that Germany had halted new arms exports to Israel due to legal challenges, a government spokesperson said, ‘There is no moratorium on arms exports to Israel, and there will be no moratorium’, explaining that the ‘federal government decides on the granting of authorizations for arms exports on a case-by-case basis, considering the current situation and taking into account foreign and security policy considerations in accordance with legal and political requirements’.

Italy

In 2019–23 Italy accounted for 0.9 per cent of Israel’s imports of major arms. Most of these comprised light helicopters (59 per cent); the remainder were naval guns (41 per cent) to equip frigates supplied by Germany. Apart from these, Italy is also a partner in the F-35 programme for which it produces components.

In January 2024 the Italian Foreign Minister and Deputy Prime Minister, Antonio Tajani, said in an interview that ‘since hostilities began we have suspended all shipments of weapons systems or military material of any kind’ to Israel. However, Defence Minister Guido Crosetto clarified in March 2024 that exports to Israel had continued, but only deliveries under contracts signed before 7 October. This was in line with a statement he had made in November 2023. He also said that these exports were only allowed after checks to ensure that any weapons would not be used against civilians in Gaza.

Other top 10 suppliers

The United Kingdom

According to SIPRI data, the UK has not exported any major arms to Israel since the 1970s. However, the UK does supply Israel with components for various systems such as aircraft, radars and targeting equipment, including components for the F-35 combat aircraft. In 2023 the UK reportedly approved export licences worth at least £17 million (around $22 million) for military exports to Israel, excluding open licences that allow the export of an unlimited quantity of specified goods.

In April 2024 Under-Secretary of State for the Armed Forces Leo Docherty told parliament: ‘No lethal or other military equipment has been provided to Israel by the UK Government since 4 December 2023.’

Official data on export licences published in June 2024 showed that there were a total of 345 extant licences (i.e. licences that had not been used in full, surrendered or rescinded) in which Israel was included as a recipient. Of these, 108 had been approved since 7 October 2023, covering, among other things, ‘components for helicopters and fixed-wing aircraft, training small arms ammunition, submarine components and components for body armour’. The statistics showed that another 185 export licence applications were under consideration. No more recent information has been made publicly available.

In December 2023 two civil society organizations, Global Legal Action Network (GLAN) and Al-Haq, brought a case before the High Court in London challenging the government’s continued approval of arms export licences to Israel. In June 2024 a hearing date was set for October 2024.

On 2 September 2024 Secretary of State for Business and Trade Jonathan Reynolds announced that the UK was suspending all arms export licences for which it ‘assessed those items are for use in military operations in Gaza’ due to concerns they ‘might be used in serious violations of international humanitarian law’. This affected around 30 licences—for items including components for F-16 combat aircraft and UAVs, naval systems and targeting equipment. Reynolds said that licences related to the F-35 programme were excluded except where the components would be going directly from the UK to Israel. Citing the exemption of F-35 components, GLAN and Al-Haq announced that they would continue with their legal action.

France

SIPRI data does not show any French exports of major arms to Israel in 2019–23, the last exports of major arms to Israel from France being in 1998. However, France has supplied components for arms.

In Feburary 2024 French Minister of the Armed Forces Sébastien Lecornu told the parliamentary defence committee that France’s exports to Israel were only of ‘basic components’ mainly for re-export by Israel. He added that since October 2023 he had told civil servants to be stricter when examining exports to Israel, and that the French government sought to be ‘irreproachable’ regarding arms exports to Israel.

Members of parliament, along with civil society organizations, have asked the government to suspend exports of arms to Israel. For instance, on 11 April 2024 a group of French civil society organizations jointly submitted three cases to an administrative court against the French government concerning the emergency suspension of arms transfers to Israel. However, all three cases were rejected.

In June 2024 the independent investigative organization Disclose alleged that the French government had authorized the export to Israel of electronic equipment used in Hermes 900 UAVs that had possibly been deployed to monitor developments on the ground in Gaza.

Spain

On 25 October 2023 Spain’s acting Minister of Social Rights, Ione Belarra, called on European countries to sever diplomatic relations with Israel and impose an arms embargo and economic sanctions in response to, in her words, Benjamin Netanyahu declaring ‘the United Nations in Israel “non grata”’.

In response to ‘reports in some media outlets’, on 12 February 2024 the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, European Union and Cooperation issued a press release confirming that no arms sales to Israel had been authorized since 7 October 2023.