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lite.cnn.com - on gopher - inofficial
ARTICLE VIEW:
/
Who supplies Israel with weapons?
By Antoinette Radford, CNN
Updated:
9:50 AM EDT, Wed October 16, 2024
Source: CNN
The United States has warned Israel unless the humanitarian situation
in Gaza improves.
This is not the first time Israel’s major ally has threatened to turn
off supplies. In May, US President Joe Biden said he would halt some
shipments of weapons to Israel if an invasion of the southern city of
Rafah went ahead. But Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu pressed on with
the campaign – and the flow of US weapons continued.
The latest warning though, which says Israel has 30 days to improve the
humanitarian situation on the ground, or risk violating US laws
governing foreign military assistance, is a significant step up in
pressure, suggesting US military aid could be in jeopardy.
While other countries have drastically reduced their military aid to
Israel over the past year, the United States has not.
Here’s a breakdown of who supplies Israel with weapons:
The United States:
The United States is overwhelmingly the biggest supplier of arms to
Israel. In 2023 69% of Israel’s arm imports came from the US,
according to a report into international arms transfers by the
Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI). Germany was
the second largest, providing 30%, followed by Italy with 0.9%. The
UK, France and Spain were among other minor contributors.
The US-imported weapons the think tank reported, noting that at the end
of 2023, thousands of guided bombs and missiles were delivered from the
US to Israel. F-35 and F-15 fighter jets were also delivered to Israel
from the US in January 2024.
CNN analysis has identified multiple instances that US-manufactured
munitions were used throughout the war, including in strikes that
killed civilians. Recently, CNN found that US-manufactured were likely
used in the Israeli attack that killed Hezbollah’s leader, , in
Beirut.
The US also provides financial assistance to Israel, delivering over
$130 billion in bilateral funding since 1948, . In 2019, the two
countries signed a Memorandum of Understanding that ensured the US
would annually provide Israel with $3.3 billion from the Foreign
Military Financing program, and another $500 million for missile
defense.
Germany:
While in 2023, Germany contributed 30% of Israel’s weapons, that
supply has significantly reduced over the course of 2024.
Earlier this year, the International Court of Justice rejected a
request from Nicaragua to order Germany to stop supplying military aid
to Israel. was that German military aid to the country had fallen from
approximately €200 million ($220 million) in October 2023 to €1
million ($1.1 million) by the time of the judgement in March.
But on October 10, German Chancellor Olaf Scholz said the country had
not stopped providing Israel with arms, noting that Germany “(has)
supplied weapons and we will supply weapons.” He added that weapons
will be delivered to Israel “in the near future.”
Israeli security has historically been a due to the Nazi Holocaust
against Jews during World War II.
Italy:
Italy has provided helicopters and guns to Israel, according to the
SIPRI, and is a partner of the F-35 fighter jet program, helping to
manufacture parts.
However, Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani told local media in late
January that Italy had stopped arms shipments to Israel since October 7
last year. Any deals signed before then were still being honored, SIPRI
said.
, an Italian monitoring organization, said Italian companies had sold
arms worth almost $129 million to Israel in the decade to 2022.
The United Kingdom:
The British government says its “exports of military goods to Israel
are low.” It said it granted licenses valued at $23.42 million in
2023. However, the UK has suspended some licenses to Israel for
military equipment over the past year.
Foreign Minister David Lammy suspended around to Israel upon the Labour
government taking office in July, with an official assessment finding
there was a clear risk that the weapons could be used “to commit or
facilitate a serious violation of international humanitarian law.”
The suspensions impacted the supply of some parts for drones and F-35
fighter jets. However, the UK government did not suspend supply of
material not used in the Israel-Hamas conflict – for example, for
training purposes.
Spain:
In February, the Spanish Ministry of Foreign Affairs, European Union
and Cooperation noting that the government had not issued any arms
sales to Israel since October 7 last year.
On October 11, Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez condemned what he
described as an “unacceptable” Israeli offensive in Lebanon and
urged the international community to stop arms exports to Israel.
“We are emphasizing the urgency for the Israeli government to cease
its hostilities which are violating international law by invading a
third country, in this case Lebanon, as well as International
Humanitarian Law, as has even been questioned by the International
Court of Justice,” he said.
France:
While France has historically provided Israel with arms, in recent
weeks the relationship between the two countries has become strained as
French President Emmanuel Macron called for an end to arms exports to
Israel to try and push for a ceasefire in Lebanon and Gaza.
On October 5, Macron called for the complete suspension of the sale of
arms “used in the war in Gaza,” and stressed that France had not
been involved in their supply. According to SIPRI, its data does not
show any French exports of major arms to Israel from 2019-23, but it
notes that France did supply components for arms.
CNN’s Mia Alberti, Christian Edwards and Inke Kappeler contributed
reporting.
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