PARIS — Israel slammed France’s decision to cover displays of Israeli offensive weapons at the Paris Air Show, one of the world’s largest aerospace and defense fairs.
The show’s organizers concealed the booths with black panels at the French state’s request, after the Israeli defense ministry refused to comply with France’s decision to ban Israeli offensive military equipment from the show.
“This outrageous and unprecedented decision reeks of policy-driven and commercial considerations,” the Israeli defense ministry said in a statement. “The French are hiding behind supposedly political considerations to exclude Israeli offensive weapons from an international exhibition — weapons that compete with French industries.”
The Paris Air Show kicked off Monday amid a hot conflict between Israel and Iran, as well as Israel’s ongoing war on Gaza, where Israel is accused of war crimes. Israeli weapons-makers have previously been banned from other French arms shows including Eurosatory and Euronaval.
Last week, a French court dismissed a petition by NGOs to ban Israeli companies from the Paris Air Show because of what they said was the country’s participation in “international crimes.”
However, French authorities told their Israeli counterparts weeks ago that no offensive weapons could be showcased, a French official told POLITICO, adding that the Israeli ambassador to France agreed to the rules. Monday’s row comes amid increasingly strained relations between the French and Israeli governments.
Out of nine Israeli exhibitors, four complied with the requirements while five others — Elbit, Israel Aerospace Industries, Rafael, UVision and Aeronautics — haven’t. They will be able to exhibit once they respect the rules, the French official said.
Tommaso Lecca and Jamie Dettmer contributed to this report.
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