Gov’t urged to halt arms deal with Israel

CONGRESSMEN on Wednesday filed a resolution urging the government to halt arms purchases from Israel, citing its intensifying military offensive against Hamas militants in Gaza City.

Party-list Rep. Dadah Karam Ismula said the Marcos administration should review its defense procurement deals with Israel, warning that continued military cooperation could make Manila complicit in what she described as the “violence” unfolding in Gaza.

“We don’t want to be one of the reasons for the continued violence in Gaza or Palestine,” she told reporters after filing House Resolution No. 195, co-authored by Party-list Reps. Jose Manuel Tadeo “Chel” I. Diokno, Percival V. Cendana and Dinagat Islands Rep. Arlene J. Bag-ao.

Israel has been a key defense supplier to the Philippines, delivering a wide array of military assets ranging from fast patrol vessels to advanced missile systems, as Manila accelerates its military modernization program amid escalating tensions in the South China Sea.

“We are not opposed to upgrading our military defense systems,” said Ms. Ismula, noting the government should consider limiting or halting purchases from Israel to avoid complicity.

“As a nation that values human rights and peace, we must ensure our defense partnerships reflect those principles,” she added.

The Israeli Embassy in Manila did not immediately reply to a Viber message seeking comment.

The war in Gaza, triggered by the Hamas-led attack on southern Israel on Oct. 7, 2023, was part of the decades-long conflict between Israel and Palestine that has seen repeated bouts of violence, mass displacement, and failed peace efforts that continue to destabilize the region.

Hamas militants took hostage 251 civilians from various Israeli kibbutzes near the Gaza Strip. To date, about 50 hostages remain in Gaza — only 20 of them are probably still alive, according to an Israel Defense Forces spokesperson.

More than 61,000 Palestinians have died amid Israel’s retaliatory attacks, according to the United Nations, citing the Hamas-controlled Ministry of Health in Gaza.

Israeli forces launched an assault on the eastern and northern outskirts of Gaza at the weekend as part of the nation’s plan to seize the territory’s largest urban area and defeat the terrorist group Hamas, which Gazans elected in 2007. — Kenneth Christiane L. Basilio