Europe’s Hidden Hands: Funding and Arming the Genocide in Gaza

Monday 26/01, 6pm CET

“EU & European complicity through military cooperation and dependency”, 

This session confronts Europe’s direct role in enabling Israel’s genocide in Gaza and its decades-long military occupation of Palestine. Far from being champions of diplomacy and peace, European countries and the EU continue arms trade, military cooperation, and political cover for Israel, even as mass atrocities unfold and international law is systematically violated.

We will examine how the narrative of Israeli “security innovation” and “battle-tested” weapons and technologies turned genocide and occupation into a sales pitch meant to deepen Europe’s military dependence on Israeli technology. The session will also centre the BDS movement’s call for a comprehensive military embargo, unpacking why cutting military ties is a key strategy to challenge state-level complicity and push for accountability.

The two main speakers will be Ilham Yaseen (coordinator of the military embargo campaign of the BDS National Committee), and Shir Hever (political economist & manager of the Alliance for Justice between Israelis and Palestinians). The discussion to follow will see contributions from other peace groups such as Banca Armada (Max Carbonell) and members of the European Network Against Arms Trade (ENAAT).

Monday 02/02, 6pm CET

“Turning complicity into arms deals and military partnerships”

This 2nd session will shift to the national level, taking a look on how European governments turn complicity into national policies, arms deals, and military partnerships. While countries like Spain or France have faced large public pressure to halt or reconsider arms exports to Israel, others, especially in Eastern Europe, are quickly expanding military cooperation, prioritizing rearmament over social issues.

Following Romania and the broader Eastern European context, we will also discuss how Israeli arms companies are finding a new frontier within Europe’s broader rearmament. They integrate into national defence systems, create long-term military dependencies, and shield these deals from democratic oversight. However, resistance is growing, with campaigns challenging arms contracts, exposing profiteering from genocide, and building transnational solidarity to hold governments accountable.

The main speakers will be:
– Vlad Mureşan, a member of the Palestine Solidarity Cluj-Napoca collective and coordinator of the Elbit Out! Campaign in Romania
– Luca Saltalamacchia, Italian lawyer heading up lawsuits against Leonardo as part of the campaign “In nome della legge. Giù le armi, Leonardo!”
Presentations will be followed by a debate with the speakers and arms trade groups from the European Network Against Arms Trade (ENAAT)

Registration link: https://zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_Xvhu70eERMC2lsNw93QPmg#/registration