With Israel’s help, EU seeks new ways of being cruel to refugees

David Cronin Rights and Accountability 24 April 2015

Weapons-makers who profited from the 2014 attack on Gaza are involved in the EU’s work on drones. 

Ashraf Amra APA images

European Union leaders have responded in a callous manner to the mass drowning of migrants in the Mediterranean.

Rather than investing in a system that would save lives and guarantee protection to people fleeing oppression and poverty, the EU’s governments have put themselves on a war footing. Their proposals to attack boats used to transport asylum-seekers look eerily similar to what far-right parties and tabloid pundits have been advocating.

Such plans have not emerged out of nowhere. For some time, the EU has been discussing migration as if it is a military threat. One recurring theme is the possibility that drones could be deployed in border surveillance operations.

Israel’s arms industry — a top exporter of drones — has participated in some of the key discussions.

In 2013, an EU “steering group” on “remotely piloted aircraft systems” — a synonym for drones — issued recommendations for how these warplanes can be increasingly flown in civilian airspace over a fifteen-year period. Frontex, the Union’s border management agency, was identified as a likely user of drones.

The group’s members included Unmanned Vehicle Systems-International, a trade association for drone-makers. Elbit and Israel Aerospace Industries, the two main suppliers of drones repeatedly used to attack Gaza, are both represented on UVS-International.

“Great interest”

Last year UVS-International noted that Frontex has “manifested great interest” in drones. The interest has been so great that Frontex has explored deploying the Hermes-900 drone while tracking refugees.

Developed by Elbit, the Hermes-900 received what war analysts called its “combat debut” in Gaza last summer. Almost certainly, this cutting-edge weapon killed and seriously maimed civilians.

Another member of the EU’s steering group was the European Association for Civil Aviation Equipment (EUROCAE).

Don’t be fooled by the “civil aviation” part of its name. EUROCAE has an “active” committee dedicated to drones, which contributed to the EU steering group’s work.

Israel Aerospace Industries — “the largest government owned defense and aerospace company” in Israel, according to its website — is part of EUROCAE’s drone committee. Michael Allouche from Israel Aerospace Industries brags of being that committee’s “airworthiness leader.”

Are we supposed to find that reassuring?

Exception for Israel

As things stand, it is generally forbidden for drones to enter European civil airspace. Yet an exception has been made for Israel Aerospace Industries.

In April 2013, one of its drones, the Heron, flew over both a military base and civilian airspace in Spain during an EU-funded maritime surveillance exercise. That might have been something of a novelty for the Heron’s operators, who are more accustomed to dropping bombs on Gaza.

Barack Obama expressed regret yesterday for how US drones killed two hostages of al-Qaeda in the border area between Afghanistan and Pakistan earlier this year.

Some press reports inferred it is unusal for innocent people to die as a result of drones. That is bunkum.

The Bureau for Investigative Journalism has documented how as many as 962 civilians may have been killed by America’s drones in Pakistan between 2004 and 2015.

The Obama administration gave its fulsome support to Israel’s war crimes last summer. Defence for Children International - Palestine has just published the results of its research into those crimes. It found that 164 children were directly targeted and unlawfully killed in drone strikes.

Is there anything more obscene than the deliberate slaughter of children? I can think of one thing: the way arms companies exploit such slaughter for marketing purposes. Israel Aerospace Industries gloats of how its products were “proven in battle” last summer.

Most of Gaza’s inhabitants are refugees, uprooted by the ethnic cleansing that led to Israel’s foundation. Knowing full well that Israel has tested its drones on Palestinian refugees, the European Union is considering testing these drones on refugees from other parts of the world. 

The arms industry and its lackeys constantly talk of “innovation.” What they really mean by innovation is finding new ways of being cruel.

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Comments

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fred replied on

There always needs to be compassion, but Europe can't be expected to take in all the poor people who want to come. That's not possible, and not their responsibility. Better to help them overcome poverty in their countries, with aid and have policies that promote peace and human rights.

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Carol Scheller replied on

I disagree with Fred. In Syria, the Soudan, Somalia, Erythrée and Ethiopia, people are caught in violence over which they have no control. My grandparents fled Ireland because there was famine there. Today in Switzerland, they would be stigmatized as "economic refugees" who should not be allowed to emigrate. Or maybe not, because they were white. The question goes beyond "compassion". The people coming are fleeing much worse than poverty. Many were well-to, not "poor" at all, but they need protection. European governments need to come up with new approaches to a new situation. To begin with, the Dublin law must simply not apply when it comes to Spain, Greece or Italy.

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bart replied on

Europe has to do like all other countries over the world ;do the interest of his own citizens! just that,not be a paladin in the world, not be a charity foundation!
In all other countries in the world they care if you have a degree they check your qualifications to permit you to have chances to get a visa. It's like that in China,it's like that in Korea,in Japan mentioning countries where I lived for a while.
They accept people that can help growth economy not people that represent a cost for the society! eu can't solve problems of the world we can't even solve our problems! sorry for my english

David Cronin

David Cronin's picture

David Cronin is an associate editor of The Electronic Intifada. His books include Balfour’s Shadow: A Century of British Support for Zionism and Israel and Europe’s Alliance with Israel: Aiding the Occupation.