On Tuesday, the European Union (EU) greenlit Google’s $32 billion acquisition of Israeli cloud security company, Wiz, making it the largest buyout of an Israeli, at a profound moment of diplomatic Israel EU friction, with European policymakers assessing a military decoupling from the startup nation and arms embargo, according to Euronews.
Europe’s potential arms embargo clashes with Israel’s ambition of landing European tech and defense deals. The surveillance state wants to secure multibillion-dollar contracts worldwide, and the EU is definitely on its radar.
Confident its economy will outpace any political pressure; Israel wants to shape global defense and cybersecurity markets.
Spain’s decision recently that has a goal to implement a total arms embargo on the Europe and Israel relationship clearly shows the tension between political condemnation and commercial reality.
Any suspension of imports, including ammunition, rocket launchers, anti-tank missiles, and tank radios between the EU and Israel is estimated to cost Madrid $1.308 billion (€1.2 billion).
Defense researcher at the Royal Elcano Institute in Madrid, Félix Arteaga, warns that “the main damage is not to exports to Israel, but to the contracts that Spanish industry has signed with Israel.”
This view, however, is not met with the same sentiment by experts and analysts that seek a more expanded focus on different markets, globally, highlighting that arm deals between the EU and Israel are not set in stone.
“There are a huge number of producers around the world, so I think there are ways of finding equipment in other countries,” lecturer and researcher at the Université Libre de Bruxelles (ULB) Christophe Wasinski told Euronews.
EU Israel Association Agreement Against Global Pivots
Israel is responding to the EU Israel Association Agreement political constraints by diversifying its defense and tech exports.
The EU–Israel Association Agreement is a treaty establishing a framework for political dialogue, economic cooperation, and trade between the European Union and Israel.
The Ministry of Defense is committed to advancing the Israeli defense industry on the Israel and EU and international stage and strengthening Israel’s position as a global leader.”
While Europe remains a significant market accounting for 54% of Israel’s $14.8 billion defense exports, in 2024 Israel began targeting Asia more, where political conditionality is lower and demand for battle tested systems is higher.
Affected by the fragmented relation between Europe and Israel, the startup nation is forging new Deals with India, Thailand, Vietnam, and Singapore now involve co-development, tech transfer, and local production, allowing Israel to cement long-term industrial partnerships beyond politically sensitive EU markets.
At the Singapore Airshow, Israeli firms showcased operationally proven platforms, from Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs) to missile defense systems. Maj.-Gen. (Res.) Director General of the Israel Ministry of Defense, Amir Baram, said, “Alongside developing the next generation of defense and offensive systems, we continue to build strategic partnerships with countries in the region.
Is Europe Supporting Israel Despite Political Pressure?
EU Israel Association Agreement is in current debates regarding arms embargo policies and the violation of human rights. Yet the Jewish state’s economy is performing well due to advancements on the tech and defense front.
It has been able to secure a deal worth $32 billion from the Google and Wiz deal, another deal worth $1.5 billion from Nvidia’s deal on AI technology, a deal worth $6.5 billion from the collaboration between Germany and Israel on the Arrow 3 missile defense system, and a gas export deal worth $35 billion with Egypt.
In addition to the deal, Germany has increased the value of the Arrow 3 missile defense procurement agreement from Israel by $6.5 billion, further showing the European defense relationship’s strength.
The Israel Wiz-Google acquisition highlights the deeply rooted divide between Europe’s commercial appetite for elite technology and its ethical scrutiny of the Israeli defense sector.
And despite 2025’s surge in valuable deals between Israeli defense tech company global powers, there’s a new movement in the European Parliament that’s questioning the feasibility of the arms embargo.
These questions stem from the systemic integration of Israeli military grade software into EU security frameworks, involving NSO’s Pegasus and Intellexa’s Predator software.
The EU Parliament categorized Poland, Hungary, Spain, and Greece as the countries where the use of such surveillance software was deemed systemic or illegitimate.
The Israel EU spoken sanctions clearly prove that the country’s economy is performing well despite the European diplomatic pressure on the EU Israel Association Agreement.
The complex web of Israel EU trade relationships, as shown by the country’s energy exports to Egypt or the investments by the US based computer chip company Nvidia, illustrate the strength of Israel’s tech relationships.
The EU-Israel Association Agreement, which require respect for human rights and democratic principles, is currently under review mid evidence of violations in Gaza. 187 human rights organizations have highlighted the EU to suspend at least part of the agreement, emphasizing that failure to act could weaken EU credibility.
The EU Association Agreement with Israel has been present since 2000, it emphasizes trade, political dialogue and research cooperation between both sides. This makes any potential EU sanctions Israel economically and strategically significant.
Yet Israel’s ability to maintain and expand strategic deals backed by both European Union and Israel and global partners illustrates that economic incentives may outweigh political censure in practice.
With Spain forcing its arms embargo and other European countries weighing restrictions, Israel’s pivot to Asia combined with the record setting tech and defense deals puts on display an economy capable of taking the Israel EU political storms its stride.
The Europe sanctions Israel task at hand for Europeans, especially in Germany and Spain, it is crystal clear, moral and humanitarian considerations have to be weighed against strategic defense and economic interests in a rapidly shifting global landscape.
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