A civic campaign · Luxembourg · 2026

Stop Israel Bonds

The law is clear. Stop financing international crimes.

Luxembourg finances illegal occupation and war. International law demands it stops.

#StopIsraelBonds

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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 taken over as the approving authority.

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 Luxembourg, Europe's largest ESG hub and a global financial centre, 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. Luxembourg has 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. Under sustained political and legal pressure, Ireland's Central Bank transferred the prospectus to Luxembourg. The CSSF is now the last active gateway for Israel Bonds in the EU.

Issuer

State of Israel via DCI

↓

Approved by, transferred from Ireland

CSSF · Luxembourg · 1 Sep 2025

↓

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

Concrete action

What Luxembourg
can do now

Suspend and refuse bond prospectuses

The CSSF must immediately suspend the 1 September 2025 approval and refuse renewal. It has supervisory power to require supplemental information and suspend offers under Art. 23 of the Prospectus Regulation.

Financial regulator

Cooperate fully with the ICC

Luxembourg 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

Both legal opinions are clear: Luxembourg must prevent trade between enterprises here and companies operating in illegal Israel settlements. The Luxembourg Fonds de Compensation remains invested in companies on the OHCHR database.

Trade policy

Commission an independent legal study

The CSSF must commission an urgent independent study on Luxembourg's 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

Coordinate with Ireland and notify ESMA

Ireland remains the home state for Israel bond prospectuses. If Luxembourg and Ireland act together and notify ESMA, Israel cannot sell bonds within the EU. Fragmented supervision must end.

EU coordination

Adopt national restrictive measures

At state level, Luxembourg can adopt national or EU restrictive measures to ensure its financial sector does not contribute to internationally wrongful conduct, as it did in response to Russia's invasion of Ukraine.

State policy

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

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 ↗

Join the campaign

The law is clear. Stop financing international crimes.

Share this campaign. Pressure your representatives. Demand Luxembourg's financial sector aligns with what international law demands.

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Tell the regulators who can stop this what is happening in Luxembourg. 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 CSSF, the Luxembourg Ministry of Finance, ESMA and Ireland's Central Bank — the prospectus's home authority. Pick your country and we add your national financial regulator — the body that can refuse to passport these bonds.

To · Luxembourg regulator

CSSF

Cc · Luxembourg government

Ministry of Finance

Cc · EU securities regulator

ESMA

Cc · Home member state

Central Bank of Ireland

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Dear Director General,

As citizens/residents of EU countries, we are writing to express our deep concern about the role of the Commission de Surveillance du Secteur Financier (CSSF) in enabling Israel bonds to be sold in the EU.

The CSSF's approval of the Israel bonds prospectus documentation, which lacks crucial information, raises important legal and moral issues.

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 Luxembourg, 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 voted for by Luxembourg and 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.

By failing in its duty to ensure the completeness of the prospectus documentation, to assess material risks, including environmental, social and governance risks, and to act in accordance with fundamental human rights protected by European and international treaties, the CSSF may be failing in its duty under the EU Prospectus Regulation to protect European securities market participants from potential future liabilities as enablers of Israeli violations of international law.

We therefore respectfully demand that you ensure that all measures at the CSSF's disposal are taken, as a matter of urgency, to end this situation and end the CSSF's role in enabling the sale of Israel bonds within the EU.

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