Israeli government approved every single arms deal since 2007
Israel has accepted every single arms deal brought to it for approval since 2007 when a law on arms exports was approved.
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Israel has signed several arms contracts with Arab countries it established ties with two years ago [Getty/archive]
Israel accepted all 41 arms deals brought to it for approval since 2007, Israeli government documents have shown, in a report published by Haaretz.
Since the Defence Export Controls Law went into effect in 2007, figures have shown that Israel did not refuse a single deal. The information was requested by attorney Eitay Mack, according to Haaretz.
The data shows that eight of the 41 deals were given the green light last year, while 14 were approved this year.
This means more than half of the total deals approved were done so in the past two years alone.
Total Israeli arms exports could reach a new record this year due to the 14 deals being approved, as numbers released by the defence ministry’s Sibat unit revealed that arms exports from 2021 jumped by 30 percent.
Out of $11.3 billion worth of arms contracts signed, $1 billion were with Arab countries.
Israel formally established relations with the UAE, Bahrain, Morocco, and Sudan in 2020, in controversial, US-mediated deals dubbed the Abraham Accords. It already had relations with Egypt and Jordan from decades prior.
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Since normalisation, Israel has already inked several arms deals with countries including the UAE, Bahrain and Morocco. This hasn’t been the case with Sudan, which is currently in the midst of a deep political and economic crisis since last year’s military coup.
Israeli arms exports are supervised by the defence ministry’s Defense Export Controls Agency (DECA), established in 2006.
"The Defense Export Controls Act was adopted the following year and names DECA the "authority for export control" on behalf of the Director General of the Ministry of Defense," according to Israel’s defence ministry website.
Global human rights organisations have continuously slammed governments collaborating with Israel militarily as it continues to use force against Palestinians in the occupied West Bank and East Jerusalem, as well as its deadly airstrikes on the besieged Gaza Strip.
Two bombing campaigns on the Gaza Strip by Israel in May 2021 and August 2022 have cost the lives of hundreds of Palestinians.
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