The Gaza genocide profiteers: How the West keeps Israel’s war machine alive
While Israel continues to kill Palestinians — both through airstrikes and by deliberately starving the population — the foreign ministers of 28 countries have signed a statement demanding an end to Israel’s war on Gaza.
Months after the United Nations and other organizations warned of an impending famine; these countries continue their performative statements with little concrete action on other fronts.
Some of these nations have officially recognized the State of Palestine, while France recently announced it would do so in September — a move that angered Israeli officials.
Nevertheless, many critics point out that despite such symbolic gestures, these same countries still profit from trade with Israel. They have imposed no sanctions and taken no meaningful measures that could pressure Israel to end its genocidal war on Gaza.
How much trade do the signatories conduct with Israel?
According to 2023 data from the Observatory of Economic Complexity, Belgium, France, Ireland, Italy, Japan, the Netherlands, Poland, Spain, Switzerland, and the United Kingdom each conduct over $1 billion worth of imports, exports, or both with Israel — even as Israel is widely known to be committing ongoing atrocities in Gaza.
Major traded data-x-items include automobiles and other motor vehicles, microchips, vaccines, and perfumes.
Roughly $3.58 billion worth of microchips — the single largest product category — are exported to Ireland, making up the overwhelming majority of Ireland’s imports from Israel.
Meanwhile, Italy exports more to Israel than any other signatory of the statement — $3.49 billion in 2023, including $116 million in automobiles.
Do these countries recognize Palestine?
Among the signatories, Ireland and Spain recognized the State of Palestine in 2024 and have strongly criticized Israel’s actions in Gaza. However, this has not prevented them from continuing trade with the occupying regime.
Seven other signatories — including Cyprus, Malta, and Poland — also recognize Palestine, all having done so in 1988 shortly after the Palestinian Declaration of Independence.
Iceland (2011), Sweden (2014), Norway (2024), and Slovenia (2024) have also recognized Palestine, while France has announced it will do so in September during the UN General Assembly.
Which countries signed the statement?
Australia, Austria, Belgium, Canada, Cyprus, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Greece, Iceland, Ireland, Italy, Japan, Latvia, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malta, the Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, and the United Kingdom signed the statement.
The critical point is that all of these countries still maintain trade relations with Israel.
France, Germany, and the UK — after holding an emergency call to discuss the war and the hunger crisis caused by the siege and blockade of aid — also called for an immediate ceasefire in Gaza.
Attention has increasingly turned toward the famine facing Palestinians in Gaza, even prompting long-time staunch supporters of Israel, such as former U.S. presidential candidate Hillary Clinton, to address the issue.
This pressure has led Israel to announce so-called “tactical pauses” for humanitarian purposes in certain hours of the day in Al-Mawasi, Deir al-Balah, and Gaza City starting Sunday, July 27.
However, despite these symbolic pauses, Israeli forces killed at least 43 Palestinians early Sunday.
The Palestinian Ministry of Health in Gaza reported that in the past 24 hours, six more deaths — including two children — were recorded due to famine and malnutrition.
This brings the total number of deaths from starvation to 133, including 87 children.
Meanwhile, Barak Sari, a strategic adviser to the Israeli regime, warned on Israel’s Channel 12 about the country’s growing international isolation — citing the rising hostility from allies, the expansion of boycott movements, and the collapse of Israel’s global image due to the war in Gaza and inflammatory domestic political rhetoric.