The role of the diamond industry in supporting Israeli occupation
The diamond industry is vital to the Israeli occupation's economy since diamonds are Israel's biggest export product.
In fact, the Zionist entity ranks in the top five countries in the world for diamond exports, despite Israel not having a single diamond mine; so where does Israel get its diamonds? And how does this industry contribute to Palestinian dispossession?
The diamond industry in Israel goes back to before the Nakba in 1948. Israeli diamond tycoons have long been involved in exploiting resource rich African countries.
Extracting their rough diamonds in corrupt deals, the diamonds are then sent to the Zionist entity where they are cut and polished before being sold to markets in Europe, the United States, and Hong Kong and beyond.
Dan Gertler, who has become a billionaire through his deals in the Congo, is one of the most prolific and notorious Israeli diamond tycoons. Gertler comes from one of Israel's long established diamond families. His grandfather, Moshe Schnitzer, was a founding member and the first president of the Israel Diamond Exchange in 1947.
Gertler first appeared in the Congo in 1997, where he was able to gain a monopoly on the country's diamond industry through a deal he made with Congo's president at the time, Laurent Kabila. Gertler acquired the monopoly in exchange for providing $20 million to Kabila to help his war efforts during the second Congo War.
Gertler lost his monopoly in 2001 when Laurent Kabila was assassinated and his son Joseph Kabila assumed power. Despite their friendship, the new Congolese president was pressured to end Gertler’s monopoly.
Gertler's company only paid $3 million out of the $20 million that were promised. A 2001 UN report concluded that Gertler's monopoly had encouraged smuggling and resulted in a significant loss of tax revenue for the Congo.
However, the loss of the diamonds monopoly was only a minor setback for Gertler. The tycoon was able to make a new arrangement where he could buy stones from Congo's state owned diamond miner. Gertler also began to expand his operations, taking advantage of Congo's copper and cobalt industries, which are notorious for the use of child labor and other human rights abuses.
Gertler has been sanctioned by both the Trump and Biden administration in the US because of corruption allegations.
Today, Gertler holds ownership in two construction companies registered in Canada called 'Green Park' and 'Green Mound', which have been used as fronts for the construction of illegal Israeli settlements in the West Bank.
So in addition to exploiting the Congo to help build his own fortune, as well as the Israeli economy, Gertler is also directly associated with the expanding occupation of Palestinian land in the West Bank.
https://www.presstv.ir/Detail/2024/04/02/722900/The-role-of-the-diamond-industry-in-supporting-Israeli-occupation-and-Palestinian-dispossession-