OPINION – Gaza, Palestine, military spendingThe economist Michael Roberts has some astonishing figures on his blog about how the US is bankrolling Israel’s merciless assault on the Palestinians. He writes that, according to Brown University’s Costs of War project, published in October 2024, Washington has shouldered 70 per cent of Israel’s military costs since 7 October 2023. US spending on Israel’s military operations and related US operations in the region totalled, then, at least $22.76 billion – even before the US expanded its presence in the region in late September/early October 2024. So much for President Trump’s February directive to the Pentagon to cut military spending by eight percent. The UK is also significantly increasing its investment in defence and weapons companies, both through domestic spending and arms exports.