IPSC condemns Irish expenditure on Israeli military equipment

national | rights, freedoms and repression | press release

Sunday April 04, 2010 15:37

by Fintan Lane - IPSC media officer

087 1258325

IRELAND-PALESTINE SOLIDARITY CAMPAIGN

PRESS RELEASE, 4/1/10

IPSC demands an end to Irish Defence Forces expenditure on Israeli arms

The Ireland-Palestine Solidarity Campaign (IPSC) is reiterating its call on the Irish Department of Defence to end all spending on equipment and armaments manufactured by Israeli firms. This comes in the wake of the further exposure in today's Sunday Tribune of the extent of Irish army spending on Israeli equipment.

There is an ongoing international human rights campaign - called for by Palestinian civil society - of Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions (BDS) against the apartheid Israeli state. The IPSC is at the forefront of this campaign in Ireland and regularly organises events in support of BDS.

According to today's Sunday Tribune, the Irish army has spent almost €14 million in the past five years on equipment made by Israeli manufacturers. One company that has received Irish taxpayers' money is Israeli company Elbit Systems, which has lucrative contracts with the Israeli military and provides surveillance equipment for the notorious apartheid wall in the West Bank. Last September, Norway divested its pension fund investments in Elbit Systems due to ethical concerns over its work on the West Bank separation wall.

The IPSC is calling on the Irish government to end on all contracts and connections with Israeli companies, and also reiterates its demand that the Irish army should not purchase bullets from Israel.

According to IPSC chairperson Dr David Landy: "The recent revelation that the Irish Government is considering purchasing millions of euros worth of bullets from Israel Military Industries is deeply shocking. It is also hugely disturbing that the Irish army has dealings with a company such as Elbit Systems which is deeply involved in providing the surveillence infrastructure for the apartheid wall in the West Bank. We find it completely inappropriate that the Irish State would purchase weapons and equipment from companies intimately linked to the Israeli armed forces, esppecially those that supply the means by which the war crimes documented by the Goldstone Report are committed. Furthermore, we feel that, at a time when Israel is facing unprecedented criticism for its continued defiance of international law, such a purchase of arms sends entirely the wrong message to the Israeli state and the international community."

He continued: "The extent of Irish army expenditure on Israeli military equipment is disturbing and, on the face of it, appears to reveal a disconnent between the Department of Defence and the Department of Foreigns Affairs. In recent months, Michael Martin has been forthrightly condemnatory of the Israeli siege of Gaza, yet our own army is allowed to fund the Israeli arms industry to the tune of millions of euros. This is unacceptable. Not a single penny of Irish taxpayers' money should be used to bolster the rogue Israeli state."

PRESS RELEASE ENDS

For further information, phone Dr David Landy (IPSC chairperson) at XXXXX, or Dr Fintan Lane (IPSC media officer) at 087 1258325.

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Comments (4 of 4)

Increased cost

by iamsam

Wed Apr 07, 2010 00:30

While I dont disagree that they are a less than savoury bidder I do wonder if you would support spending more tax payers money to buy from the second cheapest bidder? (Presuming of course that the decision was based purely on cost, it may well have been based on the product itself for all I know)

No legal requirement to buy arms from Israel

by David L - IPSC

Mon Apr 05, 2010 10:46

Hi Mark, in fact there is no legal obligation to buy arms from Israel. I'm not surprised you think there is, because this is the line our government puts out. The department. of foreign affairs, whenever we or TDs have asked questions about their purchase of Israeli arms always use the fact that they are 'obliged to' use the EDA Code of Conduct on Defence Procurement, (and under this code there's no reason not to buy weapons from Israel).

However this is simply incorrect - the code is explicitly a "voluntary, non-binding agreement" which involves "no legal commitment", and states that "in all cases, the final authority for contract award remains with [member states'] national authorities". Furthermore, the Code is an agreement between EU member states, not including Israel, with the declared aim of maximizing opportunities for "suppliers based on each others' territories". On no interpretation can this agreement be presented as compelling Ireland to open its procurement competitions to any Israeli arms company. Companies excluded from the outset incur no costs in tendering, and thus have no legal cause of action.

What this boils down to is that our government is buying bullets from Israel because it wants to, not because it's legally obliged to.

Trade

by Mark

Sun Apr 04, 2010 21:16

If this is the case then Ireland should not trade with the us or Britain!!!

But in under law Ireland has to tender contracts and take the best price. If an isreali company has the best offer then the defence forces are obliged to take it!

All Trade should cease between the EU and Israel

by Joe Burg

Sun Apr 04, 2010 17:03

hakunamatatabwana at ymail dot com

ALL TRADE between EU states and Israel should cease immediately in view of the alleged war crimes committed in Gaza and the cover-up by the Israeli military. That should include dealing with Israeli companies registered in EU member states.

Terrorizing the civilian population in Gaza by the killing of non-combatants is a crime under international law.

The dropping of hundreds of thousands of illegal cluster bombs in southern Lebanon was a deliberate action to permanently contaminate the country, and was also a war crime. 90% of these bombs were dropped after the cease-fire agreed with the UN.

The world cannot continue to deal with a state that continues to act in this barbarous manner and then has the audacity to claim to be democratic.

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IPSC condemns Irish expenditure on Israeli military equipment

Comments (4 of 4)