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Israel is a major arms exporter, but its military is heavily dependent on imported aircraft, guided bombs and missiles to carry out what experts describe as one of the most intense and devastating airstrikes in recent history. Increasing pressure on Israel to stop supplying arms to its allies had already begun to trickle down to decision-makers with the killing of aid volunteers when the reframing of the conflict around Iran led to the continuation of military sales and aid. This unstoppable arms procurement process is seen by the international community as complicity in Israel’s attacks.
Countries contributing to Israel’s weapons inventory
In addition to its own production, two countries play a decisive role in Israel’s weapons capacity. According to a report by the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI), the United States of America (USA) is by far the largest arms exporter to Israel, providing 69 percent of its defense industry imports. Germany, in second place, supplies 30 percent of these products. Italy, which ranks third, also has a 0.9 percent share in the Israeli defense market. Countries such as the UK, France and Austria are also among the importers.
The United States provides Israel with military aid worth about $3.3 to $3.8 billion annually. While US military aid to other allies has fluctuated over the years, the amount of aid to Israel has remained remarkably stable over the past decade.
But this figure alone does not explain the full complexity or closeness of the relationship. Israel has been the largest recipient of American foreign financial assistance since the Second World War, receiving a total of $158 billion by 2023, adjusted for current inflation. At the same time, US aid has allowed Israel to develop its own arms industry and is now one of the world’s largest arms exporters.
In 2019, the US military purchased $1.5 billion worth of Israeli-made military equipment. The institutionalization of Israeli companies in the United States has enabled weapons systems developed in Israel to be produced on US soil. The growing visibility of Israeli arms manufacturers in the US has led to increased partnerships between Israeli and American defense companies. At times, Israeli companies have entered into military agreements with their governments, financed by US military aid. In addition to production, there have also been deals in which the US has leased to Israel the Iron Dome missile defense batteries that it had previously purchased from Israel, making the aid mutually beneficial for both sides.
The principle of qualitative military superiority
The United States also applies “qualitative military superiority”, a principle that aims to give Israel a lasting arms superiority over its neighbors. Tracing its roots back to the Yom Kippur War in October 1973, this means that every time the US sells major weapons systems to other Middle Eastern countries, it transfers offsetting technology to Israel. When Israel and an Arab state receive the same technology from the US, Israel receives a more advanced version of the US system or the ability to customize it.
In the days following October 7, US President Joe Biden said that the US was “providing additional military assistance” to Israel. Since the beginning of the attacks, only 2 military sales from the US to Israel have been made public after emergency approval. One of them consists of 14,000 rounds of tank ammunition worth 106 million dollars, and the other of 147 million dollars worth of components to make 155 millimeter artillery shells. However, US media claim that the Biden administration has quietly made more than 100 military sales to Israel, many of which were designed below the monetary amount required to be officially reported to Congress. These are said to include thousands of precision-guided munitions, small bombs, bunker busters and small arms.
In February, the US Senate passed a bill to provide $14.1 billion for additional Israel-related spending, but it did not pass the House of Representatives. On Saturday, April 20, a new aid package, this time voted on in the US House of Representatives, would provide Israel with $26.4 billion for security reinforcements. This includes $4 billion for the short- to medium-range Iron Dome and the medium- to long-range David’s Sling systems co-produced with the US; $1.2 billion for the short-range Iron Beam; $3.5 billion for foreign military financing on behalf of Israel; $4.4 billion to replenish US stockpiles in the region; and $9 billion for humanitarian assistance. Biden’s support for additional aid in the House of Representatives has increased the chances of smooth passage to the Democratic-controlled upper house, and the Senate is expected to approve it.
When other states are analyzed, the figures are somewhat more balanced. In 2023, Germany approved sending about $353 million worth of military equipment to Israel. This is about 10 times more than the previous year. In 2022, the British government granted licenses for arms exports worth £42 million. However, there are 10 other licenses for which the financial equivalent has been left open. They do not publish the value of the actual exports made against these licenses. France, one of the smaller exporters, has sold €208 million worth of military equipment to the Israeli government over the last 10 years. The Netherlands, on the other hand, granted Israel a license for military sales worth €10 million in 2022.
Can arms support be stopped?
There are attempts to stop all these arms sales and aid, both in domestic legal and political processes and in international law.
In Nicaragua’s case at the International Court of Justice (ICJ), Germany was forced to defend itself against accusations that it was complicit in the genocide of Palestinians in Gaza by exporting arms to Israel. Also in Germany, human rights lawyers asked the Berlin administrative court to suspend the German government’s decision to send 3,000 anti-tank weapons to Israel.
In the Netherlands, a Dutch court ordered the government in February to stop sending parts for F-35 fighter jets to Israel, saying it was “undeniable that there is a clear risk” that the equipment could be used in “serious violations of international humanitarian law.” The Dutch government appealed the decision, arguing that the jets are vital to Israel’s security against regional enemies such as Iran and Hezbollah. While the Netherlands’ direct military aid or arms exports to Israel are very limited, its indirect contribution through the F-35s has thus been halted under domestic law.
The case for the US to halt these sales and aid is different. Section 502(B) of the US Foreign Assistance Act, which prohibits assistance to governments that commit gross human rights violations, provides for a restriction that also applies to Israel under current circumstances. The law includes a clause that allows Congress to request information about the country’s practices and terminate security assistance based on the information received.
The Biden administration has also been accused of failing to enforce existing or newly enacted regulations to punish countries that obstruct humanitarian assistance or use weapons to harm civilians. For example, in February 2023, the Biden administration issued a revised version of its Conventional Arms Transfer (CAT) policy. According to this policy, it provides for the prevention of arms transfers in cases of “serious violations of the 1949 Geneva Conventions, including deliberate attacks against civilian objects or civilians protected as such” and “that risk facilitating or otherwise contributing to violations of human rights or international humanitarian law,” but no decision or implementation has yet been made.
On the other hand, following the escalation of violence and deaths in Gaza, some countries such as Belgium, Canada, Italy and Spain have suspended arms deals with Israel. All of this aid, sales and deals have created an increasingly complex pattern for the Israeli defense industry, allowing the Israeli government to increase its defense capacity on an ongoing basis, while at the same time completely disrupting the existing conditions in its multi-layered relations with exporting countries. With its growing military capacity, the Israeli government is increasing its use of weapons, securitizing its decision-making and practices more easily.
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This article has been published by Anadolu Agency (in Turkish) on April 26, 2024.
