Quds News Network quoted a new report published by a group of 19 civil society organizations and trade unions – including the International Federation for Human Rights – about the largest European financial institutions investing billions of euros in international arms producers who sell weapons to Israel.
The network says that in the report that tracks companies that sell weapons to Israel, European financial institutions provided 36.1 billion euros in the form of loans and subscriptions, and own 26 billion euros in the form of shares and bonds in companies that sell weapons to Israel.
By selling weapons to Israel, which continues its horrific war on the Gaza Strip, arms producers run a significant risk of facilitating serious violations of international humanitarian law, crimes against humanity, or genocide in Gaza, the network reported.
The network continues that – according to the report – from 2019 to 2023, the supplies of 6 of the largest arms producers in the world (Boeing, General Dynamics, Leonardo, Lockheed Martin, RTX, and Rolls-Royce) did not stop supplying weapons or weapons systems to Israel.
The French bank BNP Paribas is considered the largest financier ever to companies that sold weapons to the occupying state, according to what the network reported from the report, as it has provided 5.7 billion euros in the form of loans and subscriptions since 2021.
Other large investors identified in the report include Credit Agricole, Deutsche Bank, Barclays and the Bank of England, as well as the Norwegian state pension fund and insurance company Allianz.
“According to international standards related to business and human rights, financial institutions have a clear responsibility to ensure that they do not invest in companies that contribute to human rights violations,” said Gaëlle Ducepolcher, deputy director of the International Federation for Human Rights’ Office for Business, Human Rights and the Environment.
The report’s findings intersect with previous research conducted by PAX, in that all six arms companies identified in the report were supplying weapons to countries implicated in violations of human rights or international humanitarian law, including Israel.
The brutal war on Gaza led to the death of more than 37,000 Palestinians, in addition to causing widespread destruction in the Gaza Strip and a humanitarian catastrophe, according to human rights organizations.
International human rights organizations and UN officials have repeatedly pointed to the serious violations of international humanitarian law being committed.
The Dutch Court of Appeal cited the risk of such violations as a basis for its ruling in February of this year that the Netherlands needed to stop exporting parts for F-35 fighter jets to Israel, according to Quds News Network.
Furthermore, in January 2024, the International Court of Justice ordered the occupation to take all measures to prevent genocide in Gaza.