LONDON: EU member states must end the sale of Israel Bonds within the bloc or risk being complicit in the genocide against Palestinians, Amnesty International has said.
Figures published by the Israeli government show that it sharply increased the issuance of the bonds since October 2023. They are used to raise money from retail investors, principally in the US.
“Israel has become increasingly reliant on foreign investments to finance its genocide, apartheid and unlawful occupation and bankroll its crimes against Palestinians. Israel Bonds increase the funds available to the government and thereby help finance Israel’s genocide against Palestinians in the occupied Gaza Strip that has wiped out entire families, levelled civilian infrastructure, including hospitals and schools, and left 90 percent of the population forcibly displaced with their homes in ruins,” Steve Cockburn, Amnesty’s regional director for Europe, said in a statement.
“Allowing these bonds to be sold in the EU markets comes with an enormous ethical and legal cost.
“International law is clear: All states have an obligation not to aid or assist in genocide and the obligation to prevent it.”
