Luxembourg, Ireland and all European Union (EU) member states must stop the sale of Israel Bonds in the EU or risk complicity in Israel’s ongoing genocide against Palestinians in the Gaza Strip, Amnesty International said in a public statement issued today.
“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% of the population forcibly displaced with their homes in ruins,” said Steve Cockburn, the Regional Director for Europe at Amnesty International.
“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.”
According to the Israeli government, Israel dramatically increased the issuance of Israel Bonds, a financial instrument issued by the government to raise money from individuals and small investors, since October 7, 2023 “due to Israel’s security situation” in the Gaza Strip. The proceeds of the bonds go into the general Israel state budget, and as advertised by the authorities, help to sustain its military capacity.
Approval of Israel Bonds by any EU member state for sale in the European financial market is a clear instance of financial facilitation, which could amount to a failure to prevent genocide under international law and even carries the risk of aiding or assisting in genocide.
To trade these bonds in Europe, Israel requires an EU member state to host the program. Since 2021 and after the UK left the EU, the Central Bank of Ireland has been acting as the ‘home member state’ allowing Israel to access the EU market. In 2025, following public pressure and protests in Ireland in opposition to Israel’s genocide against Palestinians in the Gaza Strip, Israel requested a transfer of the bonds to Luxembourg, which approved the prospectus, or legal document, allowing for these bonds to be sold to people in the EU for another year.
Since September 2025, Israel Bonds have been regulated in the EU by Luxembourg’s financial regulatory authority, the Commission de Surveillance du Secteur Financier (CSSF), and offered to the public in Austria, France, Germany, Luxembourg and the Netherlands.
On August 31, the prospectus in Luxembourg is due to expire. Amnesty International is calling on the state of Luxembourg to reject a new prospectus for Israel Bonds. As the host EU state for the bonds, Ireland should also decline to transfer, and reject, the approval of a new prospectus. The organization is also calling on all EU member states to refrain from accepting the transfer or approving a new prospectus.
“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. By continuing to facilitate the sale of these bonds, EU member states risk complicity in Israel’s international crimes against Palestinians,” said Steve Cockburn.
Background
From 2022 to 2024, the Israeli military budget grew from 4.2 % to 8.3% of its gross domestic product (GDP) with Israel Bonds raising on an average 2.4 billion USD annually from 2023 to 2025. After October 7, 2023, the Israeli government increased financing for its military activities. Israel Bonds were offered as opportunities to “support Israel at War” in 2023.
In January 2024, the International Court of Justice (ICJ) determined that there was a plausible risk of genocide against Palestinians in the occupied Gaza Strip, ordering Israel to take effective measures to prevent it. The ICJ issued subsequent provisional orders in March and May 2024, amongst other things, reaffirming these measures. In light of the ICJ’s ruling, all states parties to the Genocide Convention are under heightened obligations, requiring any EU actor - or other state party - that facilitates financial flows enabling Israel’s military capacity to assess its role under the duty to prevent genocide.
Since Luxembourg approved the trade of Israel Bonds in 2025, civil society and legal experts have mobilized against it and published research to support their call to the authorities to stop the bonds.
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