A civic campaign · 2026

Stop Israel Bonds

Luxembourg is stepping back. Now no EU state must step in.

Luxembourg's approval of Israel bonds ends on 31 August 2026. International law demands that no other EU country takes its place.

Update · July 2026

Luxembourg will not renew its approval of the Israel bonds prospectus, and the CSSF has refused a request from the Central Bank of Ireland to extend its role. The prospectus stays valid until 31 August 2026, and Israel can still seek approval from another EU country. Read what this means ↓

#StopIsraelBonds

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Where things stand

A win, but not the end

Confirmed

Luxembourg will not renew

Finance Minister Gilles Roth confirmed that the CSSF's authorisation will lapse on 31 August 2026 and will not be renewed. The CSSF has also refused a request from the Central Bank of Ireland to extend its role in approving the bonds.

Not yet won

The bonds can still move

CSSF director Claude Marx described the decision as a matter of regulatory compliance, not politics. The prospectus stays valid until 31 August, and Israel remains free to seek approval from any of the EU's other member states, including Ireland, which has remained the prospectus's home state throughout.

The new goal

No country should take its place

The campaign now asks every EU financial regulator, starting with Ireland, to commit publicly to refusing this prospectus, so it cannot simply relocate to wherever resistance is weakest.

How to email your representatives

Scroll down to "Contact your representatives", pick your country, and a ready-to-send letter opens in your own email app, addressed to the Central Bank of Ireland and the CSSF, with your national regulator and ESMA copied in. You review it, add your name, and press send yourself.

Email your representatives ↓

The facts

What is happening

31%

of Israel's budget now goes to war

Defence consumption jumped from a historical average of 20% to 31.5% of total government spending in a single quarter, Q4 2023. It has remained structurally elevated near 30% through 2025, crowding out all civilian investment.

Israeli CBS National Accounts · 2025

$8B

in bonds in March 2024 alone

Israel issued $8 billion in international bonds in a single month. A further $5 billion followed in February 2025, and $6 billion in January 2026. Proceeds flow directly into the general state budget with no ring-fencing from military expenditure.

UN Special Rapporteur · Reuters · 2025–26

€417M

raised in the EU since Oct 2023

Between October 2023 and April 2025, €417 million in Israel Bonds were sold across France, Germany, Austria, Belgium and Ireland under CBI approval. Since September 2025, the CSSF has approved the prospectus, and has now confirmed it will not renew that approval past 31 August 2026.

Central Bank of Ireland · Report 2025

International law

What the law demands

Non-Recognition

States must not recognise the legal effects of illegal acts. Anything arising from Israel's illegal occupation has no legal value under international law.

ICJ Advisory Opinion · July 2024

Non-Assistance

All states must not render aid or assistance in maintaining Israel's illegal situation. Approving a prospectus that enables Israel to raise funds for "general financing" with no ring-fencing from military use risks falling within this prohibition.

ICJ Advisory Opinion · Art. 16 ILC Articles

Prevent Genocide

Under the 1948 Genocide Convention, every state must act the moment it learns of a serious risk of genocide. The ICJ confirmed this threshold has been met. Three separate orders in January, March and May 2024 each found the situation was worsening.

Genocide Convention · Bosnia v. Serbia · 2007

Duty to Cooperate

All states must use their leverage to end the illegality. For EU financial centres, including Luxembourg and Ireland, that leverage is concrete and immediate.

Jus Cogens obligation · all states

"Inaction by Luxembourg is not an option. There are certain things we have to do."

Franz Fayot · MP Luxembourg · March 2026

In March 2026, two independent legal opinions from the University of Luxembourg and Utrecht University confirmed: grave violations of international law by Israel are beyond doubt. EU states have concrete obligations to act.

On 22 September 2025, Luxembourg formally recognised the State of Palestine. A state cannot recognise a people's right to self-determination while providing the financial infrastructure to fund operations the ICJ has found plausibly amount to their genocide.

The mechanism

How the bonds work

Israel Bonds are not standard sovereign debt. They are structurally illiquid, non-negotiable instruments sold directly to retail investors, religious organisations and municipal funds, bypassing the institutional market discipline that correctly prices in wartime risk.

The CSSF approved the prospectus on 1 September 2025 without prior consultation with Luxembourg's Ministry of Foreign Affairs. It wrote to Deputy Prime Minister Bettel only two weeks later to request the government's opinion.

The bond proceeds are fungible. They flow directly into Israel's general state budget with no ring-fencing from military expenditure, settlement construction, or any other state activity. Israel's own marketing, "Stand with Israel. Israel is at War," makes the purpose explicit.

Bond sales have ended in Belgium, Spain and Ireland's own market. Under sustained political and legal pressure, Ireland's Central Bank transferred approval of the prospectus to Luxembourg's CSSF, which has now confirmed it will not renew that approval when it expires on 31 August 2026. Ireland remains the prospectus's home member state, and could still be asked to approve a new one, or another EU country could take its place.

Issuer

State of Israel via DCI

↓

Approved by, transferred from Ireland

CSSF · Luxembourg · Not renewed after 31 Aug 2026

↓

Marketed to

Retail buyers · Religious orgs · Municipal funds

↓

Distributed across EU

Austria · France · Germany · Netherlands · Luxembourg

↓

Proceeds enter with no earmarking

Israel's general budget including war expenditure

Financial reality

War by numbers

Israel's national deficit · 2024

6.8%

Of GDP, up from 4.1% in 2023. Public debt rose from 61.5% to 67.9% in one year. In Q4 2023, government defence spending was the sole positive contributor to GDP growth.

Israel Bond Prospectus 2025 · Israeli CBS

Israel's yield vs Ukraine's war bond

3.96%

Israel's 10-year yield, against Ukraine's 1-year war bond yield of 25.05% and Russia's at 14.60%. Retail investors accept rates far below true war risk, effectively subsidising military spending.

investing.com · Israel Bonds Prospectus 2025

EU sales under CSSF · Dec 2025 to Feb 2026

€19M

Sold in just 10 weeks. 92.6% of sales were in denominations above €1,000. No independent audit or public breakdown has been published by the CSSF.

DCI EU Sales Reports · israelbondsintl.com

Sovereign credit rating downgrades

S&P, Moody's and Fitch all downgraded Israel's sovereign credit rating after October 2023. Moody's enacted consecutive downgrades, reaching Baa1 with negative outlook. Retail marketing contradicts these institutional verdicts.

Moody's · S&P · Fitch · 2024–25

"Treasury bonds have played a critical role in funding the ongoing assault on Gaza."

Francesca Albanese · UN Special Rapporteur on Palestine · June 2025

EU's options

What the EU
can do now

✓ Done · July 2026

Luxembourg refused renewal

The CSSF confirmed it will not renew the prospectus when it expires on 31 August 2026, and has refused the Central Bank of Ireland's request to extend its role in approving the bonds. This shows regulators do have the discretion to say no.

Financial regulator

No EU state should take Luxembourg's place

Ireland, the prospectus's home member state throughout, must refuse to resume its role and must refuse to nominate or approve any other EU country as the new home authority. Every national regulator should commit to the same, so the bonds cannot simply relocate.

EU coordination

Notify ESMA and coordinate supervision

If EU regulators act together and notify ESMA, Israel cannot sell bonds within the EU. Fragmented, state-by-state supervision is exactly what allows the prospectus to hop from Ireland to Luxembourg and, potentially, onward.

EU coordination

Cooperate fully with the ICC

EU member states must support the International Criminal Court without reservation. An arrest warrant has been issued for Israel's Prime Minister. Cooperation with international justice is a legal obligation, not a choice.

International law

End trade with illegal settlements

Independent legal opinions are clear: EU states must prevent trade between enterprises within their jurisdiction and companies operating in illegal Israeli settlements. Public pension and reserve funds across the EU, including Luxembourg's Fonds de Compensation, remain invested in companies on the OHCHR database.

Trade policy

Commission independent legal studies

Every EU national regulator should commission an urgent independent study on its own international law obligations, assessing the duty to prevent, non-assistance, and the adequacy of existing supervisory tools for sovereign issuers in conflict situations.

Due diligence

Go deeper

Resources

Full report · PDF

The Approval of the Israel Bonds Prospectus in Luxembourg

A comprehensive legal and financial analysis covering the prospectus mechanism, Israel's war economy, the international legal framework, and concrete recommendations for the CSSF and the Luxembourg government.

Anastasopoulou · Obeidat (Nashama) · Patone (ANPI Lussemburgo) · Sesti (LetzActForPalestine) · Supported by Collectives for Palestine

EN FR IT DE

Download Report ↗

Public conference · YouTube

Conference on Luxembourg's Obligations and the Israel Bonds

Legal experts, civil society representatives and political figures discuss Luxembourg's obligations under international law and the role of the CSSF in facilitating Israel's access to European capital markets.

Watch on YouTube ↗

In the media

Press coverage

Middle East Eye · 24 July 2026

Luxembourg will not renew approval for Israeli war bonds, finance minister confirms ↗

Middle East Eye · 12 June 2026

‘Illegal and immoral’: How Luxembourg became the EU hub for Israeli war bonds ↗

InsideOver (IT) · 1 July 2026

Israel Bonds: il Lussemburgo e i capitali per attaccare Gaza ↗

PassaParola Magazine (IT) · 24 June 2026

Come la tecnocrazia lussemburghese finanzia la guerra permanente di Israele ↗

Allied campaigns

Other campaigns to follow

Amnesty International · July 2026 statement

EU states allowing the sale of Israel Bonds in Europe risk complicity in ongoing genocide in Gaza ↗

Jewish Voice for Peace · Campaign

Break the Bonds, divest from Israel Bonds ↗

Join the campaign

Luxembourg is stepping back. Now no EU state must step in.

Email the regulators who can stop this. Share this campaign. Pressure your representatives to make sure no other EU country takes Luxembourg's place.

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Contact your
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Tell the regulators who can stop this what is happening. Your message opens in your own email client, addressed and ready, you press send, so it arrives as a real letter from a real person.

Every message goes to the Central Bank of Ireland and the CSSF, and is copied to the Luxembourg Ministry of Finance and ESMA, the EU's securities regulator. Pick your country and we add your national financial regulator, the body that can refuse to passport these bonds.

To · Home member state regulator

Central Bank of Ireland

To · Luxembourg regulator

CSSF

Cc · Luxembourg government

Ministry of Finance

Cc · EU securities regulator

ESMA

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Subject (edit it, varied subjects land better)

Your message (edit freely)

Dear Director General,

We welcome the news that Luxembourg's Commission de Surveillance du Secteur Financier (CSSF) will not renew its approval of the Israel bonds prospectus when it expires on 31 August 2026, and that the CSSF has refused the Central Bank of Ireland's request to extend that arrangement. This is a significant step. But it is not the end of the matter: the prospectus remains valid until 31 August, and the State of Israel remains free to seek a new home authority among any of the EU's 27 member states, including Ireland, which has remained the prospectus's home member state throughout.

As citizens/residents of EU countries, we are writing to express our deep concern about the role that the Central Bank of Ireland and the CSSF have played, and that any EU national competent authority could still play, in enabling Israel bonds to be sold in the EU.

The 'Use of Proceeds' in section 8 of the prospectus should clarify that 'general financing purposes of the Issuer' includes, at least in part since there is no ring-fencing away from military expenditure, the financing of its war in Gaza, as confirmed by the CEO of Israel Bonds, who is also a member of Israel Bonds' international board of directors. It includes as well helping to support Israeli settlements in illegally occupied Palestinian territory, as documented by The Times of Israel. The legal opinion produced by Law for Palestine makes clear that approving the bond prospectus constitutes prohibited "aid or assistance" because the bonds' fungible proceeds enhance Israel's overall budget, directly supporting its unlawful activities.

Although the prospectus documentation makes reference to the International Court of Justice (ICJ) provisional measures of January 26, March 28 and May 24 2024, there is no clear statement that the ICJ found it plausible that there is a real and imminent risk that irreparable prejudice will be caused to the rights of Palestinians under the Genocide Convention, which obliges all contracting parties, including Ireland, to prevent genocide.

On this regard, the prospectus simply states that "Israel maintains that it continues to act in full compliance with applicable law", without offering any concrete example of how these provisional measures are actually implemented and what the consequences of lack of compliance might be.

There is no mention of the ICJ advisory opinion of 19 July 2024, which ruled that Israel's presence in the Occupied Palestinian Territory (OPT, defined as the West Bank, East Jerusalem and the Gaza Strip) is illegal, or UN General Assembly Resolution A/RES/ES-10/24, based on this ICJ advisory opinion, which was overwhelmingly adopted on 18 September 2024. From the advisory opinion and adopted resolution, it is clear that states are legally obligated not to render aid or assistance in maintaining the situation created by Israel's illegal presence in the OPT, and must take steps to ensure this obligation applies to their nationals, companies and entities under their jurisdiction, as well as their authorities.

The Risk Factors section (section 2 in the prospectus) should include the real risks of negative economic outcomes for Israel, possible sanctions, trade embargoes, liability for reparations, etc., resulting from the ICJ rulings and UN resolution mentioned above, and the pending decision of the ICJ in the genocide case against Israel brought by South Africa.

Without this information, investors may not realise that by buying Israeli bonds they are at risk of aiding Israel financially to maintain and expand its occupation of Palestinian territory that the ICJ has ruled is illegal, and to undertake a "war campaign" which the ICJ considers is plausibly genocidal and in which the International Criminal Court deems Israel to have committed crimes against humanity and war crimes.

We therefore respectfully demand that the Central Bank of Ireland confirm, publicly and without ambiguity, that it will not extend its role as home authority for the Israel bonds prospectus under any circumstance, and that every EU national competent authority commit to refusing to become the home state for this prospectus, so that Israel Bonds cannot simply relocate to wherever resistance is weakest.

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