Commentary
Who profits from the genocide in Gaza
While the civilian population of Gaza and the West Bank continues to suffer due to military operations and occupation, the war companies and their major shareholders are seeing their profits increase through growing arms sales.
Why can't Israel stop waging wars, and why can't we stop the genocide in Gaza? Because it is an integral part of the Israeli-American military industrial complex, and also of our own, which we are sweeping under the rug.
Since the 1950s, Tel Aviv has received over $260 billion in military aid from the US.
In the last year and a half alone, since the Oct. 7 Hamas attack, the aid exceeded $20 billion. At the same time, Israel is at the forefront of military scientific-technological research, one of the largest arms exporters and at the same time one of the largest customers of American Boeing, General Dynamics, Lockheed Martin and RTX (Raytheon Technologies).
These companies are among the major suppliers of the military technologies used by the Israeli military, such as F-35 fighter jets, advanced missiles and air defense systems.
Behind these companies lies a global financial structure: in particular, the international investment funds known as the “Big Three”: Vanguard, BlackRock and State Street. The three investment funds are among the largest major shareholders in the most prominent arms companies as well as many industries. Vanguard, BlackRock and State Street hold significant stakes in Boeing, Lockheed Martin and RTX, influencing the management and strategies of these companies.
Increased military spending and Israel's arms purchases are closely tied to the profits of these companies.
Lockheed Martin has supplied F-35 fighter jets to Israel, considered a pillar of its military capabilities. On Oct. 26, the F-35s took out 80 percent of Iran's anti-aircraft defenses in one day.
Boeing is responsible for the sale of combat aircraft and missiles, while RTX has provided advanced missile systems and air defenses. Each sale not only strengthens the Israeli war machine but also generates large profits.
The Big Three play a major role in fueling an economic network that benefits directly from geopolitical and military tensions.
While the civilian population of Gaza and the West Bank continues to suffer due to military operations and occupation, the war companies and their major shareholders are seeing their profits increase through growing arms sales.
That is why we talk about the Israeli-American military-industrial complex. This has a definite significance in terms of war, financial and global power.
Israel wields disproportionate influence in terms of arms sales. The 97th largest country by population, it is also the ninth largest arms exporter. It is a world leader in areas such as artificial intelligence and cybersecurity. Gaza and Palestine are the testing laboratory of the Jewish state, as Australian-Jewish Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist Antony Loewenstein wrote in his book The Palestine Laboratory: How Israel Exports the Technology of Occupation Around the World.
“Many countries sell weapons,” says Loewenstein, “but what makes the Israeli industry unique is the mix of weapons, surveillance technologies and techniques that combine to create a comprehensive system for controlling ’difficult' populations and are based on years of experience in Palestine.”
Israel's military-industrial complex – and consequently that of the U.S. as well – is using the occupied Palestinian territories as a testing ground for the weapons and surveillance technologies it exports around the world, starting with artificial intelligence.
The adoption of AI technologies has been accelerated by Unit 8200, the elite Israeli intelligence unit, now composed of 60 percent engineers and tech experts, double the number of computer scientists enlisted a decade ago.
Yet more and more people are dying among the Palestinians. According to testimony from former Israeli soldiers and analysts compiled by the Washington Post, reliance on AI has led the Israeli military to relax some of its controls, resulting in an increase in the number of targets deemed legitimate – even if these carry a greater risk of civilian casualties.
From a 1:1 ratio in 2014 (one “expendable” civilian to hit a senior Hamas member), this has increased to 15:1 or even 20:1 in the current conflict, according to the Washington Post’s sources.
All this, of course, does nothing to stop Israel and the growth of its military-industrial apparatus, which is increasingly integrated with that of the United States.
Israeli startup Wiz, a leader in cybersecurity, ended up attracting strong interest from Google. The California conglomerate had already tried to buy it last summer for $23 billion, but its offer was rejected outright. It then decided to up its bid, and on March 18 managed to buy Wiz for $32 billion, the largest acquisition in the history of the Big G.
One often wonders why the Americans and Europeans are failing to put real pressure on Netanyahu to limit the carnage in Gaza, which has now exceeded 50,000 killed (70,000 according to sources such as The Lancet). The reality is that the U.S. and U.K. are directly engaged in the military operations: in 2024, 70% of reconnaissance flights over targets to be hit in Gaza and Lebanon were carried out by American and British aircraft.
More importantly, there is no major European company that doesn’t have dealings with the Israel Innovation Authority, a government agency in charge of funding innovative projects.
For example, Stellantis has joined other Italian companies such as Enel, Leonardo and STMicroelectronics, which have opened research and development laboratories in Israel, or Sparkle, Snam and Adler, which have agreements in place with the Israel Innovation Authority and Israeli startups in the high-tech sector.
That is why Israel can never lose a war, and why we Europeans will do nothing to stop Netanyahu. European rearmament, which will benefit both the European and American war industries, will also make Israel stronger and more influential. In truth, we know perfectly well why and how people are dying in Gaza and the Middle East.
Originally published at https://ilmanifesto.it/armi-e-tecnologie-a-chi-conviene-il-genocidio on 2025-03-25