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.”
Proceeds from Israel Bonds are used within the Israeli state’s budget, including its military expenditure.
Amnesty warned that approval of the sale by any EU member state is a “clear instance of financial facilitation” that “could amount to a failure to prevent genocide under international law and even carries the risk of aiding or assisting in genocide.”
In order for the bonds to be traded in Europe, an EU member state must serve as a financial host to distribute the product throughout the bloc.
Since 2021, the Central Bank of Ireland had served in this capacity, but after mounting public pressure and protests, Luxembourg became the new “home member state” of Israel Bonds after approving the prospectus of the instrument.
Through Luxembourg, citizens of Austria, France, Germany and the Netherlands are able to purchase the bonds.
The agreement with Luxembourg is set to expire on Aug. 31, with Amnesty urging the country’s government to reject any renewal, along with any other potential EU member host of the bonds.
“It is a political choice to allow these bonds to be sold in Europe. One of the most obvious and effective ways to end Israel’s genocide against Palestinians in the Gaza Strip is to stop financing it,” said Cockburn.
“By continuing to facilitate the sale of these bonds, EU member states risk complicity in Israel’s international crimes against Palestinians.”
Between 2022 and 2024, the Israeli government increased its military budget from 4.2 percent to 8.3 percent of gross domestic product.
Israeli Bonds on average raised $2.4 billion annually from 2023 to 2025. They have been marketed as an opportunity to “support Israel at war” by allowing investors, especially among the Jewish community in the US, to lend to the Israeli government.
