Trading Human Rights for Missile Systems

In December 2022 Finland announced that it will buy over €200 million worth of missiles from the Israeli state-owned company Rafael Advanced Defense Systems. Other purchases from Israel in the same year include almost €100 million worth rockets and radios from Elbit Systems. These bring the Israeli fraction of the new arms deals the Finnish government announced in the past year to over 40%.

This is a big increase. During 2008–2021, Finland spent over €400 million on military equipment from Israel, about 5% of its arms purchases. Finland bought anti-ship missile systems, multi-mission radars, field radios and communications equipment.

While we're busy trading arms, Israel has kept escalating its oppression of Palestinians. During 2022, Israel killed more Palestinians on the occupied West Bank than during any year since 2005. Human rights organizations including Amnesty International, Human Rights Watch and B'Tselem have published reports showing that the Israeli regime of oppression and domination over Palestinians constitutes the crime of apartheid.

This regime is maintained with constant violence. Israeli companies market their weapons as field-tested, using the Occupied Palestinian Territories as their laboratory and Palestinians as guinea pigs. Thousands have been killed and tens of thousands wounded, mostly civilians, by Israeli attacks in the last 10 years alone. According to the UN, 75 Palestinians have been killed by Israel only this year (2023). The killings continue with the pace of one Palestinian life lost every day. 

During the past decade, Israel has moved from apartheid towards fascism. The current Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich defines himself as a “fascist homophobe”. As hundreds of thousands of Israelis have risen to protest against fascism, the Finnish government continues with its plans to buy hundreds of millions of euros worth of missiles from Israel, supporting apartheid.