London – The Palestinian Return Centre (PRC), based in London, held an extensive online webinar entitled “Who Profits from the Genocide?” discussing the dimensions of international – governmental and corporate – complicity in the genocide being perpetrated against the Gaza Strip since October 2023. The discussion focused on the role of multinational corporations in facilitating these crimes and profiting from them, in clear violation of international laws and conventions.

The session was moderated by Dr. Sophia Hoffinger, PhD in Social Anthropology from the University of Edinburgh, whose work focuses on legal activism, Palestine solidarity, and the politics around BDS in Germany. In her opening remarks, Hoffinger stressed that the Israeli occupation, backed by Western governments and major corporations, has turned Gaza into an uninhabitable place. This genocide, now in its 600+ days, has killed more than 60,000 Palestinians amid international silence and blatant economic collusion. She noted that the discussion would explore the intersections of law, politics, and grassroots action to expose these complex profit-driven networks of complicity.

Prof. Michael Lynk: Corporations are part of the genocide’s infrastructure, and avoiding the “G-word” shields perpetrators

The discussion opened with Professor Michael Lynk, Associate Professor at the Faculty of Law, Western University in London, Ontario, and former UN Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights in the Palestinian territories occupied since 1967. Lynk presented the substance of the latest report by current Special Rapporteur Francesca Albanese, entitled “From the Economy of Occupation to the Economy of Genocide”. He explained that the report, supported by extensive evidence and data, documents the central role of international corporations, particularly in the Global North, in sustaining Israel’s military–industrial complex, which entrenches the West Bank occupation and drives the genocide in Gaza.

He noted that in her three UN reports since the start of the onslaught, Albanese has labelled Israel’s military campaign in Gaza as genocide, citing the 1948 Genocide Convention and matching field evidence of atrocities with the legal standards. These conclusions, he added, have been endorsed by leading human rights organisations such as Amnesty International and Médecins Sans Frontières, as well as prominent international figures.

Adding a political and historical dimension, Lynk recounted the account of Anthony Lake, US National Security Advisor to President Bill Clinton, who in 1994 described debates within the US administration over whether to use the term “genocide” for Rwanda. The reluctance to use the term, Lynk noted, stemmed from fear of triggering legal and moral obligations to act – the same pattern seen today with Gaza, where Global North governments avoid the term for the very same reason.

Lynk stressed that the 1948 Genocide Convention was never meant as a tool for historians decades later, but to stop genocide as it unfolds. He underlined that Albanese’s latest report goes beyond diagnosis, opening the door for accountability by combining “hard law” – binding treaties such as the Geneva Conventions and the Rome Statute – with “soft law” instruments like the UN Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights, criticising corporations that sign onto these principles as PR exercises without real compliance.

He also addressed the principle of universal jurisdiction, which in some 125 countries allows prosecution of international crimes in domestic courts. This, he argued, creates opportunities to hold companies and individuals complicit in Israel’s crimes accountable, and called for integrated legal and popular campaigns to break the nexus between Western capital and Israel’s war machine.

Energy Embargo for Palestine: Energy as a colonial tool – embargo essential to confront genocide

Kimia, an organiser with Energy Embargo for Palestine – an anti-imperialist organisation based in Britain responding to the call from Palestinian trade unions to disrupt the flow of energy to Israel – explained how control over energy resources has been a pillar of colonialism in the region since the British Mandate, enabling the Zionist project to build electricity grids serving settlements on occupied land.

She noted that today Israel relies heavily on imports of oil, gas, and coal to power its military infrastructure, while imposing a crippling blockade on fuel to Gaza. She gave the example of BP’s deep involvement, holding a major stake in the Baku–Tbilisi–Ceyhan (BTC) pipeline, which carries Azerbaijani crude to Turkey’s Ceyhan port, from where it is shipped to Israel’s Ashkelon port and refined into jet fuel used in bombing Gaza.

Kimia revealed that this pipeline supplied about 28% of Israel’s oil imports in the first year of the genocide, and that BP was awarded gas exploration licences in March 2025 in partnership with Israeli companies, thereby legitimising and economically supporting the occupation. She added that BP also supplies fuel to UK Royal Air Force bases, including RAF Akrotiri, from which aircraft have undertaken surveillance flights over Gaza to provide intelligence to the Israeli military.

She highlighted documents showing that the British Museum hosted a secret Israeli embassy event during the onslaught, attended by political and media figures supportive of Israel – an illustration of the intertwining interests of BP, the British state, and cultural institutions.

Kimia also exposed that despite Turkey’s declared ban on oil exports to Israel, shipments continued via the BTC pipeline. Her organisation used satellite tracking to prove this, prompting official exposure of these violations. She concluded that a people-led energy embargo on Israel is essential to deprive its war machine of the fuel it depends on.

Palestinian Youth Movement: Logistics as the backbone of Israel’s arms supply – campaign against Maersk

Ines from the Palestinian Youth Movement presented their campaign against Danish shipping giant Maersk. She explained that Maersk is a central link in the chain transporting weapons components to US factories for assembly, before shipping them to Israel – including key parts for F-35 fighter jets heavily used in Gaza.

She stressed that logistics is not merely a transport service, but an essential part of weapons production itself, as components manufactured in multiple countries are brought together via shipping firms like Maersk. Her research revealed that Maersk alone has been responsible for transporting the wings for every Israeli F-35 since 2022, along with critical systems for navigation, communications, fuel storage, and bomb loading.

The movement’s investigations documented Maersk shipping hundreds of thousands of tonnes of military equipment to Israel in one year, at a rate of one vessel per week from New Jersey. Campaign successes included pushing Maersk to cut ties with companies linked to illegal settlements, and forcing Spain’s government to refuse docking of Maersk vessels carrying arms – leading the company to reroute to Morocco, where it faced mass protests and dockworkers refusing to load the cargo.

Ines said such examples embody a “people’s arms embargo” enforced from the grassroots, relying on cross-border coordination, and making the continuation of arms shipping costlier than halting it.

European Legal Support Center: Legal accountability possible despite political obstacles

The final presentation was by Yasmin, Legal Officer at the European Legal Support Center, who discussed legal frameworks for holding companies and individuals involved in arms transfers to Israel from Europe accountable. She explained that supply chains span shipping lines, freight forwarders, ports, financiers, and insurers, offering multiple jurisdictional entry points.

She noted that laws in countries like France, Germany, and Belgium allow prosecution of international crimes under universal jurisdiction, but warned that political considerations often lead prosecutors to cite insufficient evidence as a pretext for inaction, despite sound legal grounds.

One of the hardest challenges, Yasmin said, is linking a specific shipment to a specific attack on a specific victim – requiring serial number tracing, customs record analysis, and satellite imagery. Even if direct war crimes charges fail, alternative charges such as participation in unlawful arms trade or complicity in unlawful killings can be pursued.

She cited the case of the vessel Catherine, which was carrying explosives to Israel and was prevented from docking in several European ports thanks to coordinated legal and media pressure. Yasmin emphasised the need to replicate such models on a wider scale so that every shipment and every port comes under both legal and grassroots scrutiny.

Joint Recommendations

Participants concluded that confronting the web of international complicity with Israel’s crimes requires integrated action combining legal tools, grassroots mobilisation, media exposure, and cross-border alliances. Targeting major corporations in the energy, logistics, and arms industries must be part of a broader strategy to economically and politically isolate Israel, linking these efforts to domestic demands in Western countries such as climate and economic justice.

They stressed that the struggle does not end with a ceasefire; it extends to ensuring Gaza’s reconstruction on just terms and preventing recurrence of crimes through effective accountability mechanisms. Organised grassroots pressure, they agreed, is the decisive factor in shifting corporate and government policies, and a people’s embargo on arms and energy is a central instrument in this effort.

Watch the webinar

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8i9LGL5g0lQ