<html>
<head>
<meta content="text/html; charset=windows-1252"
http-equiv="Content-Type">
</head>
<body bgcolor="#FFFFFF" text="#000000">
<h1 class="title" id="page-title">Israeli drone conference features
weapons used to kill Gaza’s children</h1>
<div class="submitted">
<span property="dc:date dc:created"
content="2014-09-18T13:14:41+00:00" datatype="xsd:dateTime"
rel="sioc:has_creator">Submitted by <span class="username"
xml:lang="" about="/users/rania-khalek"
typeof="sioc:UserAccount" property="foaf:name" datatype="">Rania
Khalek</span> on Thu, 09/18/2014 - 13:14<br>
<b><small><small><small><a class="moz-txt-link-freetext" href="http://electronicintifada.net/blogs/rania-khalek/israeli-drone-conference-features-weapons-used-kill-gazas-children">http://electronicintifada.net/blogs/rania-khalek/israeli-drone-conference-features-weapons-used-kill-gazas-children</a></small></small></small></b><br>
</span> </div>
<p>Less than one month after killing more than 2,100 Palestinians in
Gaza, including over 500 children, Israel is hosting its annual
drone conference. </p>
<p>Organized in partnership with the US embassy in Tel Aviv, “<a
href="http://www.unmanned-systems.org/UVID_Conference.html">Israel
Unmanned Systems 2014</a>” offers Israeli military firms an
opportunity to flaunt the performance of their products, many of
which were tested on Palestinians in the besieged Gaza Strip this
summer. </p>
<p>Palestine has long served as a laboratory for Israel’s ballooning
“homeland security” industry to test and perfect weapons of
domination and control, with disenfranchised and stateless
Palestinians serving as their lab rats. </p>
<p>Speaking to the German magazine <em>Der Spiegel</em> last month,
Avner Benzaken, head of the Israeli army’s “technology and
logistics” division — a unit “comprised largely of academics who
also happen to be officers” — <a
href="http://www.spiegel.de/international/world/defense-industry-the-business-of-war-in-israel-a-988245.html">explained</a>
the benefits of this occupation. </p>
<p>“If I develop a product and want to test it in the field, I only
have to go five or ten kilometers from my base and I can look and
see what is happening with the equipment,” said Benzaken. “I get
feedback, so it makes the development process faster and much more
efficient.” </p>
<p>Easy access to a captive population to <a
href="http://electronicintifada.net/blogs/rania-khalek/israel-firing-experimental-weapons-gazas-civilians-say-doctors">experiment
on</a> allows Israeli weapons manufacturers to market their
products as “combat-proven,” a coveted label that gives Israel a
competitive edge in the international arms trade. Israel’s
suppression technology is then <a
href="http://electronicintifada.net/content/how-israels-war-industry-profits-violent-us-immigration-reform/13283">exported
to regimes</a> that are similarly invested in subjugating the
poor and marginalized.</p>
<p>This dystopian arrangement has paved the way for Israel, a
country the size of New Jersey, to rank among the globe’s <a
href="http://www.npr.org/blogs/parallels/2014/08/29/344030354/with-home-grown-technology-israel-becomes-leading-arms-exporter?_ga=1.179130916.1832701724.1410929448">top
five largest arms exporters</a> and to become the world’s <a
href="http://www.haaretz.com/news/diplomacy-defense/israel-is-world-s-largest-exporter-of-drones-study-finds.premium-1.524771">number
one exporter of unmanned aerial vehicles</a> (UAVs), or drones.
</p>
<h2><strong>“Combat-proven”</strong></h2>
<p>One of the sponsors of this year’s drone conference is G-NIUS.
Formed as a joint venture between two of Israel’s largest arms
companies — Elbit Systems and Israel Aerospace Industries (IAI) —
G-NIUS develops unmanned ground vehicles for the Israeli army.</p>
<p>Thanks to the Gaza assault, G-NIUS can now add “combat-proven” to
the <em>resumé</em> of its unmanned Armored Personnel Carrier
(APC), which was deployed operationally in Gaza this summer,
marking the first time a remote controlled and unmanned APC has
ever “participated in combat,” <a
href="http://www.israeldefense.com/?CategoryID=411&ArticleID=3071">according
to <em>Israel Defense</em></a>. </p>
<p>Those attending the drone conference were <a
href="http://www.unmanned-systems.org/Program_Details.html">scheduled
to visit</a> G-NIUS on Monday 15 September to get a first-hand
look at the machines used to assist in Gaza’s destruction. </p>
<p>They were also scheduled to visit Israel’s largest developer of
military technology, Elbit Systems, which benefited enormously
from the summertime offensive.</p>
<p>Elbit’s stock <a
href="http://http://electronicintifada.net/blogs/rania-khalek/stocks-rise-israeli-drone-maker-gaza-slaughter-continues">jumped</a> to
its highest level since 2010 during the Gaza slaughter, a
phenomenon <em>Bloomberg Businessweek</em> attributed to investor
speculation that the Haifa-based company would see increasing
demand for its products from governments impressed by its
blood-soaked performance.</p>
<p>One product likely to use the Gaza bloodshed as a selling point
is Elbit’s Hermes 900, which was <a
href="http://www.defensenews.com/article/20140812/DEFREG04/308120026/Israeli-Forces-Praise-Elbit-UAVs-Gaza-Op">deployed
operationally for the first time</a> during Operation Protective
Edge. </p>
<p>The Hermes 900 is a larger and more advanced version of the
Hermes 450, an aerial attack and surveillance drone that was used
by the Israeli army to deliberately target civilians in Gaza
during Israel’s 2008-2009 onslaught, according to <a
href="http://www.hrw.org/sites/default/files/reports/iopt0609webwcover_0.pdf">Human
Rights Watch</a>. </p>
<p>Elbit drones were also used to <a
href="http://www.stopthewall.org/downloads/pdf/Elbit-fc.pdf">kill
civilians in Israel’s war on Lebanon in 2006</a>, including Red
Cross workers, ambulance drivers and dozens of people fleeing
their homes for refuge from relentless Israeli bombardment. </p>
<p>Even before it helped Israeli soldiers reduce Gaza to rubble, the
Hermes 900 was winning lucrative contracts.</p>
<p>In July, the Swiss government purchased the Hermes 900 system for
<a
href="http://electronicintifada.net/blogs/ali-abunimah/swiss-army-knifes-palestinians-israeli-drone-deal">$280
million</a>. And earlier this year, the Brazilian government <a
href="http://www.thenation.com/blog/180465/exporting-gaza-arming-brazils-world-cup-security">purchased
a fleet of Hermes drones</a>, including the Hermes 900, to help
crush the massive protests that erupted across Brazil against the
World Cup. </p>
<p>After participating in Israel’s 51-days of terror on Gaza this
summer, the Hermes 900 can join its predecessors in the
“combat-proven” camp, which is sure to boost demand. </p>
<p>Also likely to profit from its role in turning Gaza into a
graveyard is Elbit’s Skylark mini-UAV, a hand-launched
surveillance drone. Though it’s been used in Gaza in the past,
Operation Protective Edge was the first time the Skylark was
deployed in large numbers to assist the invading ground forces.</p>
<p>Roy Riftin, a general and chief artillery officer in the Israeli
army, <a
href="http://www.defensenews.com/article/20140812/DEFREG04/308120026/Israeli-Forces-Praise-Elbit-UAVs-Gaza-Op">told
<em>Defense News</em></a> that the Skylark was instrumental in
“serving up targets of opportunity” for Israeli gunners. </p>
<h2>Weapons testing</h2>
<p>Drone makers were’t the only ones to profit from the Gaza
massacre.</p>
<p>Mired by debt prior to the Gaza onslaught, Israel Military
Industries (IMI) was on life support. The company’s slump was so
severe, the Israeli government planned to privatize it by 2016 and
was <a
href="http://www.haaretz.com/news/diplomacy-defense/1.609919">offering
$370,000 severance packages</a> to any employee willing to
retire early.</p>
<p>But now things are looking up for IMI. </p>
<p>During Israel’s military assault on Gaza, IMI employees worked
nonstop to ensure an endless flow of 5.56 mm bullets and Kalanit
and Hatzav tank shells to Israeli forces, <a
href="http://www.haaretz.com/news/diplomacy-defense/1.609919">reported
<em>Haaretz</em></a>.</p>
<p>The Kalanit and Hatzav tank shells detonate in midair, blanketing
the people and structures below with deadly bomblets. The Kalanit,
an Israeli army favorite, is so popular that it was awarded
Israel’s esteemed “<a
href="http://www.jpost.com/Video-Articles/Video/Mid-air-blast-tank-shell-winner-of-Defense-Prize">Defense
Prize</a>” in 2011. Though they have been used in the past,
Operation Protective Edge marked the first time the Kalanit and
Hatzav shells were deployed on a colossal scale. </p>
<p>IMI also tested several new weapons during the Gaza slaughter,
including its <a
href="http://www.imi-israel.com/vault/documents/imi%20at%20singapore.pdf">MPR-500
multipurpose rigid bomb</a>, a 500-pound precision-guided
explosive so powerful it can penetrate a meter of reinforced
concrete. After deploying the MPR-500 the first time in an
operational capacity against the structures and bodies of the
people of Gaza this summer, demand for the bomb skyrocketed, with
<a href="http://www.haaretz.com/news/diplomacy-defense/1.609919">5.6
billion shekels</a> ($1.5 billion) worth in back orders in early
August. </p>
<h2>Getting in on the action</h2>
<p>Meanwhile, foreign military contractors are aiming to cash in on
the next slaughter. </p>
<p>Doron Shalev, business development manager at BAE Systems Rokar,
a subsidiary of the Anglo-American firm BAE Systems that
specializes in developing GPS navigation for artillery, is already
angling for new business opportunities from the Israeli war
machine in the aftermath of the Gaza slaughter.</p>
<p><a
href="http://www.israeldefense.com/?CategoryID=483&ArticleID=3118">Writing
in <em>Israel Defense</em></a>, Shalev notes that Israel’s use
of indiscriminate artillery, most heavily in the Shujaiya and
Rafah areas, provoked the ire of the Obama administration. To
avoid a similar “controversy” in a future attack on Lebanon,
Shalev suggests Israel invest in the type of navigation systems
that he happens to sell, understanding full well that Israel is <a
href="http://www.timesofisrael.com/israel-preparing-for-very-violent-war-against-hezbollah-tv-report-says/">itching
to attack Hezbollah</a>.</p>
<p>“During the last operation, artillery fire was admittedly
employed on a relatively large scale, but it is important to bear
in mind that it was employed under relatively favorable
conditions,” argues Shalev. “It is important to understand that
the next conflict will be different and that the Gaza Strip
theater is not in any way similar to Lebanon. For this reason, we
must ensure that the right lessons are being drawn and that the
artillery layout is being prepared effectively for the next
challenge rather than for the previous challenge.”</p>
<p>Lockheed Martin, the world’s largest “defense” contractor, is
also looking to get in on the action, having just formed a
subsidiary inside Israel. “The move is part of a wider push by
Lockheed Martin to seek overseas defense contracts amid a slowdown
in US military spending,” <a
href="http://online.wsj.com/articles/lockheed-martin-forms-israel-unit-executive-1410789395">reported</a>
<em>The Wall Street Journal</em>. </p>
<p>Meanwhile, the besieged and devastated Gaza Strip remains <a
href="http://www.nbcnews.com/storyline/middle-east-unrest/gaza-buried-under-four-million-tons-uncleared-rubble-group-n204276">buried
under four million tons of rubble</a> as the death merchants
responsible parade around Israel’s annual drone festival bragging
about their successes in an effort to export their products.</p>
<p><a href="http://www.ratical.org/ratville/CAH/warisaracket.html">War
is a racket</a> indeed.</p>
<div class="moz-signature">-- <br>
Freedom Archives
522 Valencia Street
San Francisco, CA 94110
415 863.9977
<a class="moz-txt-link-abbreviated" href="http://www.freedomarchives.org">www.freedomarchives.org</a>
</div>
</body>
</html>