Since the start of the large-scale attack on Gaza in October 2023, the Israeli government has massively scaled up its issuance of government bonds, explicitly stating that this issuance is to finance the costs of the war in Gaza. The issue of these government bonds, worth US$19.4 billion was facilitated by a total of seven international investment banks, including Goldman Sachs, BNP Paribas and Barclays. Facilitating the sale of bonds (also called underwriting) involves the bank buying up these bonds, placing them in the market, and reselling them to investors. Some of the biggest buyers of the bonds include German asset manager Allianz, which has invested US$960 million in the bonds.
Since October 2023, Israel has killed at least 46,700 Palestinians in Gaza. The area has been almost completely destroyed and 90 per cent of the population has been displaced. International human rights organisations, including Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch, UN reporters and academics have concluded that Israel is committing genocide in Gaza. By helping the Israeli government sell government bonds intended to finance the war in Gaza, or by investing in them, the banks and asset managers concerned have contributed to financing the war. In doing so, they run a high risk of having contributed to the numerous serious violations of international law committed by the Israeli army in Gaza, including genocide.
‘Since the establishment of a fragile ceasefire in Gaza, Israel has continued to scale up its military attacks in the West Bank, where it has committed serious human rights and international law violations, including illegal occupation and apartheid, for decades,’ says Thomas van Gool, Project Lead Israel-Palestine. ‘Given the risks, financial relations with the Israeli state currently seem incompatible with the responsibility of financial institutions to respect human rights.’
