The West is giving weapons to Israel while discussing aid to Gaza.
As most Western lawmakers debate the extent to which Israel is obstructing the flow of life-saving aid to Gaza, arms exports that make up much of Israel’s war on the enclave are on the rise, to be continued.
Since the start of the war, the volume of weapons entering Israel has increased as Israel uses massive amounts of ordnance to kill, maim, and displace its civilian population, along with flattening the Gaza Strip.
“On the one hand, we have this dire humanitarian need, then on the other hand, we have this continuous supply of arms to Israel, [which is] director of crisis advocacy at Human Rights Watch (HRW) Akshay Kumar said.
International Law
When it comes to arming another country, international law has rules and conventions to control who’s arms and for whom.
Under the 1948 Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide – which the International Court of Justice (ICJ) ruled in January could potentially be in force in Gaza – states legalize genocide., are bound to prevent war crimes and crimes against humanity.
The United States refused to sign the convention until 1988.
Under the terms of the internationally binding Arms Trade Treaty – to which the United States is not a signatory – a country is prohibited from exporting arms to any state it suspects. Can use them for “genocide, crimes against humanity… attacks against civilian objects or civilians”.
Due to Israel’s war on Gaza, more than 31,000 Palestinians have been killed so far, including mostly women and children. According to the Palestinian Ministry of Health, about 73,000 have been injured. Health facilities, under attack and siege, were unable to cope with the wounded and dead months ago.
The enclave stands on the brink of human destruction. The EU’s chief diplomat, Josep Borrell, told the UN Security Council on Wednesday that Israel was using hunger as a weapon of war and wreaking havoc by preventing aid from entering.
Israel has also shot at those who are allowed to receive small amounts of aid to gather people.
“Western states have recently gone to great lengths to acknowledge Israel’s role in creating the suffering we see in Gaza,” HRW’s Kumar said. States are seeing no such reduction in the flow of arms. Like America, Germany and beyond”.
Israel’s main arms suppliers have focused on getting aid into Gaza to reach the Palestinians they sold to Israel.
US President Joe Biden used his State of the Union address this year to announce the creation of a maritime corridor that he claims would allow bypassing Israel and delivering aid to Gaza.
Ground reality
Although some countries have suspended arms exports to Israel in light of its war on Gaza, some remain key suppliers.
The U.S.’s annual contribution to Israel’s military budget continues to be about $3.8 billion, on top of another $14 billion for Israel that the U.S. approved in February, reportedly giving Israel a “multi-front were eyeing to prepare for “war.” Read as opening another front against the armed group Hezbollah in Lebanon.
In recent weeks, Britain and others are understood to have taken a similar stance on the well-reported and escalating humanitarian crisis in Gaza, maintaining business as usual, expressing concern that the weapons they are supplying could be used in an upcoming attack on Gaza. Rafah, where 1.4 million civilians have taken refuge.
