Israel’s opportunistic exploitation

Capitalising upon atrocious acts of terrorism remains a priority for the Israeli government. Following the terror attacks in Brussels, shifting the focus towards Israel was an easily-accomplished feat that included a recapitulation of rhetoric about affront, grievances and opportunity.

In the aftermath of the attacks, Israeli Minister of Science, Technology and Space Ofir Akunis made the ludicrous suggestion that the EU’s concern about the boycotting and labelling of illegal settlement produce contributed to the atrocities in Belgium. “Many people in Europe have preferred to occupy themselves with the folly of condemning Israel, labelling products and boycotts,” he claimed pompously before adding that the focus upon Israel resulted in misplaced priorities.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu also linked the issue of global terrorism to the Jerusalem Intifada during a televised speech to the AIPAC conference on Tuesday. Addressing America’s most influential pro-Israel lobby group, he persisted in the intentional distortion of Palestinian resistance and providing the foundations for further exploitation of both Palestine and Europe. His motive was to increase Israeli exports of military and surveillance technology. While the statement from Netanyahu’s office contained the usual obscure and perfunctory rhetoric about Israel offering “help and cooperation in the war on terror” without any specific details, it is possible that it refers to another amalgamation of military and surveillance technology boosting Israel’s economy as well as its colonisation of Palestine.

A recent report by Reuters states that Israeli-owned Elbit Systems is expecting “renewed interest in its technologies in Europe.” The report also refers to statements by the company’s CEO, Bezhalel Machlis, who declared that, “The migration crisis and security fears create big opportunities for Elbit in Europe.” As far as Israel is concerned, wherever there’s human misery, there’s money to be made.

Last year, despite the company’s role in human rights violations against the Palestinian population, the EU granted Elbit financial assistance for research under the Horizon 2020 funding scheme. The cycle of profits, exploitation and dependence is clearly visible and in violation of international law, yet acquiescence is paramount in safeguarding the impunity of all involved in such violations.

Israel has never lost an opportunity to expand its security narrative. The current political climate in Europe has provided additional fuel for Netanyahu to attempt an equation between the colonial obsession with manipulating resistance and the repercussions of foreign interference in Arab countries, which have contributed to the mutating global violence. Both Israel and the EU can be considered as perpetrators; the former, however, exceeds in terms of both manipulation and oblivion for the Palestinians. What Israel dictates, the EU does, ensuring that complicity is disguised under incessant clauses and stipulations which bypass EU involvement while providing interminable lifelines to Israel. This is done particularly through legitimising Israel’s security narrative by awarding financial assistance and purchasing the technology that has been tested upon live targets — Palestinian women, children and men — under field conditions during successive Israeli military offensives.

As happened in France last year, the crocodile tears shed by Netanyahu are nothing more than a facade behind which Israel can ensure further approval for its atrocities in Palestine. The EU’s priorities remain a tangled mess of attempting to decipher causes while it adopts alienation as its main tactic. For Palestinians, the consequences remain the same; they need instigate a sense of urgency as isolation becomes the biggest indirect ally in Israel’s colonial endeavours.

Also read:

Erdogan: Turkey arrested Brussels attacker but Belgium released him.

Egypt’s Freedom and Justice party condemns Brussels attack.

The Independent: Terrorism in Europe is a result of the West’s policies.

Terrorist attacks in Brussels: a clash of what?.

The views expressed in this article belong to the author and do not necessarily reflect the editorial policy of Middle East Monitor.