تقرير حملة مقاطعة يكشف عن تورط قطاع التأمين في الإبادة الجماعية في غزة

A report released on March 10 by Boycott Bloody Insurance, a UK-based campaign calling on the insurance industry to cut ties with arms manufacturers supporting Israel, claims that five major insurers have been complicit in the genocide in Gaza by supporting over a dozen defense companies that aid the Israeli military. 

The report — endorsed by 22 groups, including Tipping Point UK and the Coal Action Network — aims to expose the complicity of global insurance companies in genocide and dispossession in Palestine, specifically investigating companies that have contributed to and invested in Israel’s military operations since Oct. 7, 2023. The top insurers featured in the report include Allianz, Aviva, AXA, Zurich Insurance Group, and RSA (Intact), all of which have contributed a total of $1.7 billion across 15 companies involved in Israeli militarism. 

Insurance companies play a significant role in the arms manufacturing industry, aiding and profiting from the genocide in Gaza through their investments in companies and weapons manufacturers that provided Israel with equipment with the “full knowledge it was being used to target civilian populations,” according to the report. The boycott campaign said the goal of the study was to hold financial institutions accountable for their role in facilitating violence and oppression, as well as highlight the urgent need to pressure the insurance industry to withdraw from those companies. 

“The findings emphasise the urgent need to force the insurance industry to cut ties with deadly businesses and to build a powerful movement able to pressure our day-to-day institutions to boycott complicit insurers,” the report reads. 

Among the five financial institutions, Aviva is reportedly the largest investor, with over $880 million invested in arms manufacturers including BAE Systems, Boeing, and Caterpillar, all of which sell large weapons and military equipment to Israel. Allianz has a stake in all 16 companies featured in the report, and invests over $452 million in BAE, Boeing, Caterpillar, General Dynamics, and Lockheed Martin — the largest arms manufacturer in the world, which supplies the Israeli military with missiles and fighter jets that have killed dozens and injured hundreds more. According to the report, Aviva and Allianz respectively account for 51% and 26% of the total investments across all five insurers. Zurich and AXA each accounted for over 10% of overall investments, and RSA (Intact) over 1%.

“These investments enabled the genocide in Gaza, continue to sustain violent ethnic cleansing and colonisation of Palestine and facilitate the development and deployment of lethal weaponry around the world,” the report reads.

The report found that BAE, the United Kingdom’s largest arms manufacturer, has held four active military export licenses to Israel since 2021. The aerospace company produces the M109 howitzer, capable of firing white phosphorus rounds and used by the Israeli military in October 2023, according to Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch. The use of such shells in densely populated civilian areas like Gaza is prohibited under international law and constitutes a war crime. Israel also used BAE equipment in January 2024 in the bombing of a building in Gaza housing international doctors. 

General Dynamics, a primary supplier of large weapons to Israel, provided MK-84 bombs, over 500 of which were dropped in northern Gaza by November 2023, according to the report. The Israeli military also used such bombs in an airstrike on Jabalia refugee camp in October 2023, killing 100 Palestinians. The report also found that Boeing, a leading aircraft manufacturing company, provides Israel with Joint Direct Attack Munitions (JDAMs), which help increase the precision of unguided bombs. The Israeli military has repeatedly used JDAMs in Gaza, notably in two October 2023 strikes that killed 43 Palestinians, including 19 children. 

The boycott campaign found that Israel has used D9 bulldozers supplied by Caterpillar to destroy Palestinian homes, clear agricultural lands, and destroy vital infrastructure in Gaza and the West Bank since October 2023. The military also used Hellfire missiles provided by Lockheed Martin to reportedly strike near al-Shifa Hospital in November 2023, killing journalists and other civilians. In partnership with Northrop Grumman and BAE, Lockheed Martin also developed the F-35 Lightning II fighter jet — of which Israel purchased 75, with 39 delivered as of 2024. Last July, Israel used the jets to strike the al-Masawi humanitarian zone, killing 90 people and injuring 300. 

Another company featured in the report is Danish shipping giant Maersk, which has played a role in the transportation and supply of arms and weapons components used by Israel in its genocide in Gaza, including military cargo, tactical vehicles, aircraft components, artillery systems, and armored tanks. In November 2024, the Palestinian Youth Movement’s (PYM) Mask Off Maersk campaign revealed that the company had shipped millions of pounds of military equipment to Israel from the United States. The report cites PYM’s research stating that 35% of the shipments lacked detailed descriptions. Maersk ships continued to dock at Spanish ports, despite the government’s embargo on military goods in Gaza. In response to grassroots pressure, Spain denied entry to two Maersk ships. 

“The authors of this report recommend that all insurance companies end their involvement with companies which have facilitated the genocide of Gazans and perpetuate settler colonialism,” the report reads. “Specifically, insurers must stop investing money from insurance premiums into these defence contractors and stop insuring them.”