INSecurity conference, Tel Aviv, Israel

As the ISDEF (International Defense & HLS) arms fair got under way in Tel Aviv earlier this month, a shadow conference – INsecurity: 50 years of Exporting Occupation – was also taking place challenging the narrative of the military industries. Coalition of Women for Peace invited speakers from around the world to participate in a series of panel discussions with Palestinian and Israeli campaigners, drawing parallels between the experiences of those living in militarised communities such as the favelas of Brazil and the realities of the lives of Palestinians living under occupation. Sarah from WRI's staff team gave a presentation on resistance to the arming of Israel in the UK.

The conference highlighted the way in which Israeli military industries influence and profit from the occupation and then sell on the 'knowledge' that they have gained in so doing, exporting occupation to the rest of the world. Fifty years on to the week from the 'Six Day War' which led to the ongoing Israeli occupation of the West Bank and Gaza, activists also took their protest against “blood money” directly to the war profiteers with a die-in at the arms fair and protest outside.