Who is arming Israel… The principle of “qualitative military superiority”

Dr. The article written by Tolga Sakman for AA Analytics is as follows:

Israel is a major arms exporter, but its military is heavily dependent on imported aircraft, guided bombs and missiles to carry out what experts describe as one of the most intense and devastating air strikes in recent history. The increasing pressure on Israel to stop supplying weapons to its allies began to spread to decision-makers with the killing of aid volunteers, and the reconstruction of the conflict focused on Iran led to the continuation of military sales and aid. This unstoppable arms procurement process is seen by the international community as a partnership in Israel’s attacks.

COUNTRIES CONTRIBUTING TO ISRAEL’S WEAPONS INVENTORY

It can be said that two countries play a decisive role in Israel’s weapons capacity, in addition to their own production. According to the report of the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI), the United States of America (USA), which is by far the largest arms exporter to Israel, provides 69 percent of defense industry imports. Germany, which comes in second, supplies 30 percent of these products. Italy, ranked third, is also in the Israeli defense market with a share of 0.9 percent. Countries such as England, France and Austria are also among importers.

The United States provides military aid to Israel worth approximately $3.3 to $3.8 billion annually. While the military support provided by the USA to its other allies has varied over the years, the amount of aid against Israel has remained clearly stable over the last 10 years.

However, this figure alone is not enough to explain the entire complexity or closeness of the relationship. Israel has become the country that has received the most foreign financial support from America since World War II, receiving a total of $158 billion by 2023 in current inflation-adjusted figures. However, US assistance also allowed Israel to develop its own arms industry and now become one of the world’s largest arms exporters.

The US military purchased $1.5 billion worth of Israeli-made military equipment in 2019. The institutionalization of Israeli companies in America enabled the weapon systems developed in Israel to be produced on US soil. The increased visibility of Israeli arms manufacturers in the United States has led to increased partnerships between Israeli and American defense companies. From time to time, Israeli companies have entered into military agreements with their governments, financed by US military aid. In addition to production, we can see that the aid has turned into a bilateral financial benefit for both parties by making agreements where the USA rented the Iron Dome missile defense batteries, which it had previously purchased from Israel, to Israel.

THE PRINCIPLE OF QUALITATIVE MILITARY SUPERIORITY

Additionally, the United States practices “qualitative military superiority,” a principle that aims to give Israel a permanent weapons advantage over its neighbors. This situation, which dates back to the Yom Kippur War in October 1973, has seen the United States sell major weapons systems to other Middle Eastern countries. This means that every time Israel and an Arab state receive the same technology from the US, Israel is given a more advanced version of the US system or the ability to privatize.

US President Joe Biden said that the US “provided additional military assistance” to Israel in the days following October 7. Since the beginning of the attacks, only 2 military sales from the United States to Israel have been made public after receiving emergency approval. One of these consists of 14 thousand rounds of tank ammunition worth $106 million, and the other consists of $147 million worth of components to make 155-millimeter artillery shells. However, US media claims that the Biden administration has quietly made more than 100 military sales to Israel, and most of them were designed below the monetary amount that requires official notification to Congress. These are said to include thousands of precision-guided munitions, small-caliber bombs, bunker busters and small arms.

In February, the US Senate passed a bill that would provide $14.1 billion for additional Israel-related spending, but this bill did not pass the House of Representatives. With a new aid package voted on Saturday, April 20, this time by the US House of Representatives, it is envisaged that 26.4 billion dollars will be transferred to Israel for security reinforcement. In this aid, 4 billion dollars are for the short-medium range Iron Dome and medium-long range David’s Sling systems produced together with the USA; 1.2 billion dollars for the short-range Iron Beam; $3.5 billion for foreign military financing on behalf of Israel; It appears that $4.4 billion is allocated to replenish US stocks in the region and $9 billion is allocated for humanitarian aid. Biden’s support for additional aid in the House of Representatives increased the chances of a smooth transition to the Democrat-controlled upper chamber, and the Senate is also expected to approve this aid.

When other states are examined, it is seen that the figures are partially more balanced. Germany has approved sending military equipment worth approximately $353 million to Israel in 2023. This figure is approximately 10 times more than the previous year. In 2022, the British government has licensed arms exports worth £42 million. In addition, there are 10 more licenses whose financial equivalents are left open. They do not publish the value of the actual exports made in return for these licenses. France, one of the smaller exporters, has sold military equipment worth 208 million euros to the Israeli government in the last 10 years. The Netherlands, on the other hand, granted a license worth 10 million euros to Israel for military sales in 2022.

CAN WEAPON SUPPORT BE STOPPED?

There are initiatives both within the domestic legal and political processes of the countries and under international law to stop all these arms sales and aid.

With the lawsuit filed by Nicaragua at the International Court of Justice (AUD), Germany was forced to defend itself against accusations that it was complicit in the genocide of Palestinians in Gaza by exporting weapons to Israel. In addition, human rights lawyers in Germany requested the Berlin administrative court, within the framework of domestic law, to suspend the German government’s decision to send 3 thousand anti-tank weapons to Israel.

A Dutch court in February ordered the government to stop sending parts for F-35 fighter jets to Israel, saying it was “undeniable that there was a clear risk” that the equipment would be used in “serious violations of international humanitarian law”. The Dutch government objected to the decision, arguing that the jets were vital to Israel’s security against regional enemies such as Iran and Hezbollah. Although direct military aid or arms exports to Israel remain very limited, the Netherlands’ indirect contribution through F-35s has thus been stopped within the framework of domestic law.

The situation regarding the USA stopping these sales and aid is different. Article 502(B) of the US Foreign Assistance Act, which prohibits aid to governments that commit serious human rights violations, envisages a restriction that is also valid for Israel under today’s conditions. The law includes a provision that allows Congress to request information about the country’s practices and to terminate security assistance based on the information received.

In addition, the Biden administration is accused of not implementing existing or newly issued regulations aimed at punishing countries that block humanitarian aid or use weapons to harm civilians. For example, in February 2023, the Biden administration released the revised version of the Conventional Arms Transfer (CAT) policy. Accordingly, prevention is envisaged in cases of “serious violations of the 1949 Geneva Conventions, including deliberate attacks against civilian objects or civilians so protected” and arms transfers that “risk facilitating or otherwise contributing to violations of human rights or international humanitarian law”, but the issue has not yet been addressed. There was no decision or implementation regarding it.

On the other hand, due to the increase in violence and death in Gaza, some countries such as Belgium, Canada, Italy and Spain stopped arms deals with Israel. All these aid, sales and agreements create an increasingly complex order for the Israeli defense industry, causing the Israeli government to increase its defense capacity but at the same time causing a complete deterioration of the current conditions in its multi-layered relations with exporting countries. The Israeli administration, on the other hand, is increasing its use of weapons by making its decision-making and practices easier to securitize with its ever-increasing military capacity.

[Dr. Tolga Sakman, Diplomatik İlişkiler ve Politik Araştırmalar Merkezi (DİPAM) Başkanıdır.]

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