It is reported today, that Turkey has frozen a five billion dollar contract for 1000 Israeli-made tanks, giving a body blow to Israel’s burgeoning arms and munitions industry that is so vital to the state’s economy.
This means that each one of the victims of the Israeli naval commandos, who were killed on the Turkish aid ship trying to break the siege of Gaza, two weeks ago, has cost Israel a minimum of one half a billion dollars, that is US$500,000,000 for every life taken.
This is a lesson of which Europe and the world can well take heed. The only way to ensure that this Israeli government observes human and civil rights, in its own and in other countries, is by economic means. The simplest way to do that would be to follow Turkey’s example and to put an EU embargo on all bilateral arms trade. No military exports to, and no imports from, Israel by any EU state including the UK, Germany, France, Poland and all other members.
Without its trade in arms, the current right-wing, Israeli coalition government would soon capitulate and the international community would see an end to state-sponsored killings, and an adherence to Human Rights law, international agreements and democratic practice.
Then, and only then, could the world and the Middle East hope for a just settlement for the indigenous people of what was previously Palestine, and peace in the region after over sixty years.
It is reported today, that Turkey has frozen a five billion dollar contract for 1000 Israeli-made tanks, giving a body blow to Israel’s burgeoning arms and munitions industry that is so vital to the state’s economy.
This means that each one of the victims of the Israeli naval commandos, who were killed on the Turkish aid ship trying to break the siege of Gaza, two weeks ago, has cost Israel a minimum of one half a billion dollars, that is US$500,000,000 for every life taken.
This is a lesson of which Europe and the world can well take heed. The only way to ensure that this Israeli government observes human and civil rights, in its own and in other countries, is by economic means. The simplest way to do that would be to follow Turkey’s example and to put an EU embargo on all bilateral arms trade. No military exports to, and no imports from, Israel by any EU state including the UK, Germany, France, Poland and all other members.
Without its trade in arms, the current right-wing, Israeli coalition government would soon capitulate and the international community would see an end to state-sponsored killings, and an adherence to Human Rights law, international agreements and democratic practice.
Then, and only then, could the world and the Middle East hope for a just settlement for the indigenous people of what was previously Palestine, and peace in the region after over sixty years.