Israel’s weapons industry is hoping the Gaza ceasefire will reverse a slump in sales to European countries, which began canceling contracts over the regime’s war crimes against Palestinians.
Over the past two years, contracts worth approximately €600 million were canceled, and Israeli firms have been barred from arms fairs and defense exhibitions.
European suppliers have also restricted access to key components needed for production, further stalling exports.
The killing and destruction in Gaza, along with irresponsible statements by Israeli officials about settlement expansion, “have cast doubt on the continued prosperity of Israel’s weapons industry in Europe,” according to Calcalist, the Israeli daily business and economics website.
It wrote that countries that previously “praised the products of Israeli industries and coveted them as part of their power-building processes and updating their military capabilities have replaced the compliments with accusations of war crimes against Israel.”
Elbit Systems, Israel’s largest private arms manufacturer and a key supplier to the regime’s military, stands accused of enabling war crimes, with its drones, artillery, and surveillance technologies linked to the deaths of more than 67,800 Palestinians and the destruction of vital infrastructure in the Gaza Strip.
Executives now say they are optimistic that the ceasefire deal with Hamas, which is expected to halt the regime’s hostilities in Gaza, will erase barriers to renewed sales, Calcalista wrote.
“If the war is truly behind us, barriers will be removed, and within months, we can push for new deals worth billions,” said a marketing manager at a major Israeli weapons company.
Another added, “Our technologies have proven themselves over the last two years. Once Gaza falls off the global agenda, Europe will be open to new contracts. I am definitely optimistic.”
Human rights advocates, however, warn that this approach prioritizes profit over human life.
Two years of bombing, starvation, and medical collapse have left Gaza’s population in desperate need, yet Israeli firms kept marketing weapons abroad with little regard for the devastation they helped perpetuate.