The General Electric Company (GE) is U.S. corporation with an aviation division that manufactures engines for military and civilian aircraft. GE provides Israel with gas turbines, jet engines, support services, and other military accessories.
The General Electric Company (GE) is U.S. corporation with an aviation division that manufactures engines for military and civilian aircraft.
General Electric engines are used in Israel’s primary air and naval military platforms, including T700-GE-700 engines in the UH-60 Black Hawk, T700-GE-701 engines for Boeing A-64 Apache helicopters, and the CH-53D/E engine in the CH-53 Heavy Lift helicopter. Additionally, a GE LM2500 gas turbine is used in Israel’s naval missile ship, the Sa’ar 5. GE also supplies Israel directly with various equipment and services through the Foreign Military Sales program contracted by the U.S. Department of Defense. Between 2008-2013, GE provided Israel with gas turbines, jet engines, support services, and other military accessories.
Israel has used Apache helicopters in ongoing attacks against civilians in Lebanon, the West Bank, and Gaza, labeled by the international human rights community as human rights violations and at times war crimes. After the 2006 Lebanon war, Human Rights Watch found that Israeli forces had killed numerous civilians using missiles launched from Apache helicopters and failed to take the precautions to avoid casualties as required by international law. Apache helicopters were also used against civilians during Operation Cast Lead in Gaza in 2008-9, in which 1398 Palestinian men and women were killed, including 345 minors. Amnesty International has documented that the Israeli Air Force targeted civilian homes, hospitals, and shops. According to the United Nations Fact-Finding Mission, many of the attacks on Gaza during Cast Lead constituted violations of international human rights, possible war crimes, and crimes against humanity. According to the Israeli human rights organization B'tselem, 563 Palestinians have been killed in Israeli attacks between the end of Cast Lead and April 2014, including 82 minors.
Apache helicopters were also used against Gazans in Operation Protective Edge (2014). According to the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA), 2192 Palestinians were killed during the 50 days of Protective Edge, including numerous whole families. More than 20,000 housing units were destroyed, leaving more than 100,000 people homeless. Defense for Children International documented at least 13 children killed directly by missiles fired from Apache helicopters in its report on Protective Edge.
Sa’ar 5 missile ships were used by the Israeli Navy during the 2006 Lebanon war and Operation Cast Lead and are continuously used to enforce the illegal naval siege of the Gaza strip. The siege is considered by the International Committee of the Red Cross to be collective punishment, in clear violation of Israel’s obligations under international law. According to UN OCHA, Israel limits Gaza fishermen to an area no wider than three to six miles off the coast, which severely limis their access to fishing. This is in contravention of the Oslo Agreements, which state that Gaza fishermen should have a clearance of 20 nautical miles off the coast. Even when within the three to six mile boundaries, Gaza fishermen risk being attacked by Israeli naval vessels, which have killed and injured several and/or resulted in damage to/confiscation of their boats. A Sa’ar ship also participated in the Israeli attack on the unarmed Free Gaza Flotilla in 2010, resulting in the killing of 10 humanitarian activists.