Europe turns blind eye as arms flow to Israel amid Gaza conflict

European nations persist in supplying arms to Israel amid its ongoing military operations in Gaza, despite accusations of genocide at the International Court of Justice (ICJ).

According to the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI), France, Italy, Germany and the U.S., collectively accounted for 81% of arms imports to the Middle East from 2019 to 2023.

SIPRI, an independent global institute headquartered in Sweden, focuses on researching conflict, armaments, arms control, and disarmament.

Israel’s military spending increased by 24% to 25.25 billion euros ($27.5 billion) following its attacks on Gaza, making it the second-largest arms spender in the Middle East.

From 2014 to 2022, the European Union granted export licenses to Israel worth about $6.8 billion.

These weapons are suspected to have contributed to the deaths of more than 38,000 civilians in Gaza, including 10,000 women and more than 15,000 children.

While some European countries, including Belgium, Italy, the Netherlands and Spain, decided to halt arms sales to Israel, press reports suggest that this trade has continued.