French, U.K. defense firms bolt Tel Aviv arms expo
Limitations on certain weapons exports to Israel, put in place during 2014 Gaza war, cause some defense firms to withdraw from this week’s International Defense and Security Expo in Tel Aviv.
By Ora Coren | Jun. 3, 2015 | Haaretz Daily Newspaper
▻http://www.haaretz.com/business/.premium-1.659347
Some French and British defense firms have withdrawn from this week’s International Defense and Security Expo in Tel Aviv after failing to get approval from their countries’ defense ministries to export particularly sensitive equipment to Israel, a source told TheMarker.
After some equipment from Western suppliers was put off limits to Israel during last summer’s war with Hamas and its allies in the Gaza Strip, Israel decided to rely more on Israeli-produced technology, the source said.
This is no boycott of Israel, said the source, who is associated with ISDEF, as the defense fair is known, but there are a lot of Western countries that over the years are preventing the export of offensive equipment to Israel. The situation affects companies from France, Germany, Norway, Sweden, Switzerland and Austria, the source added. The equipment that failed to get export approval includes sharpshooting weaponry, drone aircraft, ammunition including purportedly non-lethal ammunition such as sponge-coated bullets, and other special ammunition for guns and rifles.