Amnesty: Two thirds of Israeli arms – for exports
Report issued by organization focuses on contribution of global arms trade to escalation in worldwide violence; mentions Israel, Palestinians and Hizbullah, among many others, as violators of human rights. According to Amnesty, Israel remains dominant player in international weapons market
Among the many examples given by the report, Israel is mentioned several times as an alleged culprit in these violations. One example is the sales of weaponry from the United States to Israel, which in turn uses these arms in its military actions in the Palestinian territories, resulting in the death and injury of thousands, all in violation of the international humanitarian law. At the same time, the report claims, "Armed Palestinian groups are using rockets, bomb belts, and other explosive devices to kill and maim hundreds of Israelis, and the Lebanese armed group Hizbullah who fired rockets to Israeli population centers in the north of Israel."
Another example regarding Israel is the selling of the US made Apache attack helicopter to Israel. According to the report, the helicopter includes sub-systems manufactured by companies in Britain, Holland, and Ireland, which under the European Union regulations should not have allowed the direct sales of these arms systems to Israel.
Israel tops 'developing countries' list
The report also mentions the role of the largest industrialized nations, in the international arms trade. According to the report, five countries, all of them members in the G8, and four of them permanent members in the UN Security Council, are the world leaders in arms and military equipment trade. These countries are the United States, Britain, Russia, France, and Germany who are responsible for about 82 percent of the arms trade in the world.
As for Israel, the report says that it remains a dominant player in the international arms market, with two thirds of its weapons production going to export. The report also says that Israel tops the list of developing countries which managed to have companies included in the list of the 100 leading arms companies in the world. Israel has four companies in the list: Elbit, RAFAEL, IMI (Israel Military Industries), and IAI (Israel Aircraft Industries). Alongside Israel, the rest of the developing countries that have companies in the top 100 list are India, South Korea, and China with three companies, and Brazil, Singapore, and South Africa with one company each.
The report clarifies that weapons alone do not encourage violence and that many countries need to protect their citizens by law. But the report tries to emphasize that the availability of weapons, due to poor enforcement, is the reason why weapons get to the hands of inappropriate individuals and results in the escalation in violence around the world.