The Belgian Army continued to purchase ammunition and equipment from Israeli defence companies even after the war in Gaza began, a VRT NWS investigation has revealed. The new Defence Minister does not plan to change this any time soon.
Belgium's army bought military goods and ammunition from Israel even after the escalation of the conflict in Gaza in October 2023. Militants from Hamas, designated as a terrorist organisation by the EU, invaded Israeli territory, killing 1,200 people. Israel's attack on Gaza in response has killed over 47,000 people. Several NGOs including Amnesty International have criticised Israel of genocide, according to VRT NWS.
Last year, Wallonia issued a ban on the transit of all arms to Israel and former Federal Development Minister Caroline Gennez (Vooruit) called for an EU-wide arms embargo on the country. Meanwhile, the Belgian Army still continued to trade with Israeli defence companies. A detailed list from the cabinet of former Defence Minister Ludivine Dedonder (PS), requested by VRT NWS, included purchases from Israeli defence companies.
The overview shows that the Belgian Army has purchased 109.5 tonnes of ammunition from the company IMI Systems since October 2023. IMI Systems was acquired in 2018 by Elbit, one of Israel's largest defence companies. Before that, it was owned by the Israeli Government.
Many of the surveillance and attack drones used by the Israeli army in Gaza and the West Bank come from Elbit. The Belgian Government has in the past even been openly critical of the company, and of BNP Paribas for providing loans to Elbit.
State-owned companies
Last summer, the Belgian Army bought a Piranha armoured vehicle from the Israeli subsidiary of Danish company DSV. Other Israeli defence companies included in the list have close ties to the Israeli Government. At least two trading partners of the Belgian Army are state-owned.
This includes the company Rafael, the former research unit within the Israeli Ministry of Defence. The Belgian Army bought two of its smaller shipments of "electronic components". It also bought two aircraft maintained by Israel Aerospace Industries (IAI) – also an Israeli Government company.
Diederik Cops, an arms trade researcher at the Flemish Peace Institute, noted that from a purely military point of view, it is not "illogical" to buy products from Israeli companies. "The war industry is running at full speed and these products have also cynically already proven their effectiveness."
However, he stressed that the Belgian Government must now ask itself how it wants to relate to the Israeli defence industry. "By doing this, Belgium is stepping not only into a military relationship but also into a political relationship with Israel."
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There is also a strong interconnection between the European and Israeli defence industries. This is based on a decades-long partnership from which a dependency relationship has developed. Purchases from Israel are therefore unlikely to decrease in the near future.
New Defence Minister Theo Francken (N-VA) has responded that there is no legal framework to stop the procurement policy with Israeli defence companies. "There are no sanctions against Israel. Israel is a very important trading partner when it comes to military supplies."
