'Exporting the occupation': Israel's arms industry profiting from Gaza war

Antony Loewenstein, author of the book, The Palestine Laboratory, said Israel has become one of the world's largest arms exporters as profits of companies such as Elbert, IAI, Rafael since Oct. 7, 2023 "are going through the roof" and that the danger of exporting "occupation" is more serious than ever.

As part of Anadolu's series marking one year of Israel's military campaign in Gaza, the agency spoke to Loewenstein, an investigative journalist and author, about his book on how Israel uses Palestine as a tool for defense industry exports, and its attacks on Gaza and Lebanon.

He said the war on Gaza, which has claimed more than 41,000 lives and the enclave lies in ruins, seems to be a testing ground for Israel's new weaponry.

"Israel has been testing and using new weapons and technology in its wars. And already, it has been trying to sell those tools and technologies at various global arms fairs since Oct. 7," the Sydney-based correspondent told Anadolu. He said Israeli exports reached a record $13.1 billion in 2023.

But, he added, "there is still a contradiction between what happened on Oct. 7, which showed that Israel's military failed terribly. And the fact that they can still sell not just the weapons and the surveillance, but also the idea."

"As you know, many Western nations, in fact, are supporting Israel. The US particularly, of course. My sense of the reality behind the scenes is that many other nations are looking at what Israel is doing with admiration, not with disgust, not with shame, with admiration. Not all nations, of course, but many."

Loewenstein said Israel, which has been trying to rebuild its "invincible" image in the wake of the cross-border incursion that claimed 1,200 lives and around 250 others were takes as hostages back to Gaza, has since targeted Hamas and Hezbollah's top leadership, penetrated their communications systems, gained information about people's daily lives and plans, and has "a lot of spies on the inside."

- 'Nothing Israel does makes it safer'

"None of these activities, the killings, the assassinations, the destruction, none of that is making Israel safer," Loewenstein said, noting that many countries, some of them supporters of Israel, saw Oct. 7 as a disaster for Tel Aviv, and that watching the events in Gaza and Lebanon might lead them to believe that "its deterrence has strengthened."

"There are still 5 million Palestinians under occupation. Their lives have gotten much worse in the last year. Their lives are not going to get any better in the near future because of the Israeli government, because of the ideology, because of the occupation, all these reasons," he said. "Israel might think that it has defeated or is defeating a key enemy in the region, but none of it is making Israeli Jews particularly any safer. Their position in the Middle East has not become more secure in the last 12 months."

- Israel and the use of artificial intelligence

The independent journalist said Israel used artificial intelligence before Oct. 7 and especially in its attacks on Gaza in 2021, adding that its use has increased in recent months and "mass destruction" has been the central idea.

"This is not about targeting terrorists. It's not about going after just Hamas leaders or Hamas operatives or the leader of Hamas," he said.

A war in which only machines will decide who to target and who not to target is not far away, Loewenstein said.

- Israel aims to expand production and exports

The filmmaker said among the Israeli companies, defense contractor Elbit has extremely high profits, and Rafael and IAI are also among the leading manufacturers.

He said the Adani Group, one of India's largest conglomerates, has partnered with Israeli arms manufacturers to produce weapons locally, which means "there is an increasing attempt to expand the manufacturing base, not just within Israel, but India too."

- 'Israel also exports what it does in Palestine'

"But the fact is that what Israel is doing in Palestine is now exported and has been for a long time, globally. I call this the 'Palestinianization' of global conflict. Those dangers of Israel exporting the occupation globally is real," he said.

Emphasizing that Israeli militarism and violence are not only a threat to Palestinians and that the danger of Israel "exporting" the occupation is more serious than ever, Loewenstein argued: "The example of what's happened since Oct. 7 in Gaza and now what's happening with Hezbollah in Lebanon and beyond is making many other countries, as I said before, publicly outraged, but privately full of admiration. And that is the danger. That admiration is the danger."

While cross-border fighting between Israel and Hezbollah continued since the war in Gaza, Israel recently escalated its offensive against Hezbollah, killing a string of its senior commanders and leader Hassan Nasrallah. The intense bombardment of sites across Lebanon has killed more than a thousand civilians and displaced tens of thousands.