EU rewards Israel for genocide by approving new drone deal

Israel’s weapons makers were directly involved in the destruction of Gaza.
Omar Ashtawy APA images

How deep is the European Union’s cooperation with Israel and firms that have profited from the Gaza genocide?

It is difficult to specify, not least because EU bodies are less than transparent. And that’s putting it politely.

Here’s an example of some cooperation that received hardly any attention.

In December, two weapons makers – Israel Aerospace Industries (IAI) and Airbus – announced they had signed a “follow-on” contract with Frontex, the EU’s border guard agency.

Such announcements are intended to impress shareholders and potential clients, rather than to inform the public. Frontex itself did not promote the deal.

The announcement gave the impression that Frontex had renewed a contract, worth more than $50 million when it was originally clinched in 2020.

The firms announced that IAI’s Heron drone would be used to track refugees on perilous Mediterranean voyages for another four years.

Asked for a comment, a Frontex spokesperson stated that the contract “is based on a new open tender” rather than being an extension of a prior deal. The new contract is worth $192 million over a two year period.

The admission from Frontex actually makes matters worse. It shows that an EU agency approved a new deal involving Israel’s weapons industry in December – while Gaza was still being subjected to a genocide.

A Frontex spokesperson did not answer a question I raised about the genocide and the involvement of Israel’s weapons industry in it.

“The use of drones for our mandate enables the agency to support rescue operations in real time, act against illegal activities and thus ensure the safety of the Mediterranean and save lives,” the spokesperson added.

The claim that a deal with IAI is benign should be viewed with contempt.

In the first few months of Israel’s genocidal war against Gaza, IAI stated that its Herons were conducting round-the-clock surveillance for Israel. Many of the reservists operating those drones were IAI employees, and the company has described itself as “thoroughly embedded” with the Israeli military.

Frontex is known to have previously availed of the Heron so that it can identify migrants heading for Europe and force them back towards Libya, where they have faced human rights violations. By renewing the contract with IAI, Frontex is ensuring that its cruel activities will be carried out with help from Israel’s tools of genocide.

The role of Airbus – or, to be more exact, its subsidiary, Airbus DS Airborne Solutions (ADAS) – in this sordid affair shouldn’t be ignored.

That subsidiary customizes Israel’s Heron drones for European states. Along with being involved in the Frontex deal, ADAS arranged for an adapted version of the Heron to make its maiden flight in Germany last May.

Thanks to partners like Airbus, Israel Aerospace Industries has kept on finding business opportunities abroad while playing what the firm described as a “pivotal role” in the Gaza genocide, without, of course, acknowledging that a genocide has occurred.

Treating migrants as “intruders”

Airbus, a transnational firm, and Italy’s Leonardo are the two largest arms producers in the European Union.

Through a freedom of information request, I learned that Leonardo is also a contractor in the aforementioned deal involving Israel Aerospace Industries.

Leonardo is known to have sold guns fitted into naval vessels with which Israel attacked Gaza as the genocide got underway in October 2023.

Even though Frontex is not supposed to be a war-fighting agency, Leonardo last year treated the agency to the kind of presentation normally tailored for a military audience.

The presentation pointed to an Israeli attack on Beirut as an instance of a recent drone strike before claiming that Leonardo’s radar technology “provides advanced force and border protection through the detection, classification and tracking of aerial and surface intruders.”

Refugees and other migrants are not “intruders.” They are human beings fleeing war, persecution and economic hardship.

Under international law, they are entitled to humane treatment and protection.

To its shame, the European Union is displaying contempt for international law and instead treating migrants as intruders. Speeding up expulsions is now an official priority of the Brussels bureaucracy.

Frontex regularly organizes consultations with arms makers eager to sell surveillance technology. Next month, it will hold an “industry day” focused on artificial intelligence.

The Gaza genocide has given Israel an unparalleled opportunity to experiment with AI while carrying out massacres.

Despite how they involve robotics, these experiments have pushed human cruelty to new extremes. It would not be surprising if the results of those experiments will be applied in building more barriers to entering Fortress Europe.