Foreign investment in developing countries is viewed as a fundamental responsibility of the world’s economically developed countries. The principles are supposedly grounded in moral and pragmatic reasoning; aimed at alleviating global poverty and the billion plus people still living on a dollar a day.
If we don’t take an active interest in building a more prosperous world then the problems of conflict and mass migration will appear on our own doorsteps; yet providing financial assistance and arms deals means a government’s political aspirations can reach beyond their own borders. This international bargaining chip invariably ties western investment and arms deals to Palestinian casualties.
The largest financial contributor to Israel is, by far, the United States with $3.6billion in military aid alone in 2016, this equates to almost $10million per day. The UK government has less direct financial dealings with Israel but in 2015 handed over approximately £8billion in commercial and military licences and sold millions of pounds worth of military equipment through arms deals.
A UK Freedom of Information Request for all financial aid and military assistance given to Israel was refused by the Department of Defence because the cost of collating such information allegedly exceeded the £600 limit. Others' requests are still pending.
Considering that the Israeli annual military budget is around $18billion; certain western countries are supplementing this total and profiting from Israeli arms sales. Whether it is direct or indirect, major western powers cannot deny supporting Israeli military as they cannot pick and choose where their support goes.
The UK’s military export criteria supposedly bans the sales of arms where there is a clear risk that they may be used to commit serious breaches of human rights. Israel’s ‘Operation Protective Edge’ in 2014 cost more than 2,000 lives, 70% of which were Palestinian civilians. Britain admitted that weapons from these arms agreements were used by Israel in the operation yet the 12 arms export licences the UK has with Israel, which were under review, were cleared to continue in July 2016. In a telling twist, British foreign secretary, Baroness Warsi, resigned stating that Britain’s stance was “morally indefensible”.
