Britain has banned the Israeli government from sending officials to its flagship military weapons trade fair in London next month, in another sign of Israel’s deepening isolation as it expands the war in Gaza.
The British defense ministry confirmed in a statement on Friday that it had told Israel that its officials would not be welcome at the Defense and Security Equipment International exhibition, because “the Israeli government’s decision to further escalate its military operation in Gaza is wrong.”
Israel condemned the decision, calling it a “deliberate and regrettable act of discrimination against Israel’s representatives.” The Israeli defense ministry said in a statement that it “plays into the hands of extremists, grants legitimacy to terrorists and introduces political considerations wholly inappropriate for a professional defense industry exhibition.”
Britain’s ban does not extend to Israeli arms suppliers, several of which plan to have displays at the fair, which runs from Sept. 9 to 12. The British statement said the police would put “robust security measures in place” at the sprawling event, which draws companies from about 60 countries and has drown protests by human rights groups in previous years for the lethality of the weapons on display.
The British government has steadily ratcheted up pressure on Israel over its conduct of the war in Gaza, announcing last month that it would recognize an independent Palestinian state next month unless Israel agrees to a cease-fire with Hamas. Last September, it imposed a partial suspension of weapons sales to Israel.
Britain’s move to recognize a Palestinian state followed on the heels of France, which also acted to constrain Israel’s ability to sell weapons in its country. At the Paris Air Show in June, organizers erected walls around some stands, after the Israelis objected to a French demand that they take down the displays on the grounds that they were promoting offensive, rather than defensive, weapons.
At the time, the Israeli defense ministry’s director general, Maj. Gen. Amir Baram, called France’s action “absolutely, bluntly antisemitic.” His criticism was echoed by two Republican governors from the United States who attended the show, Sarah Huckabee Sanders of Arkansas and Glenn Youngkin of Virginia.
Britain said in its statement that it would reconsider its ban if Israel complied with international humanitarian law in Gaza and the West Bank, adding, “There must be a diplomatic solution to end this war now, with an immediate cease-fire, the return of the hostages and a surge in humanitarian aid to the people of Gaza.”
Under the ban, Israel’s defense ministry cannot set up a national pavilion at the fair, where arms producers are typically grouped together by country. Individual Israeli suppliers can still sell their weapons — a list that includes Israel Aerospace Industry and Rafael Advanced Defense Systems, which are owned by the government. Both said Friday that they planned to attend the exhibition.
Britain’s handling of the war in Gaza has become an increasingly fraught issue for Prime Minister Keir Starmer. He is facing rising calls from members of his Labour Party to take harsher measures against Israel, with some criticizing him for making his pledge to recognize a Palestinian state conditional, unlike France.
Others faulted the government for not imposing a total ban on weapons sales to Israel. The government noted that Britain’s arms sales constitute less than 1 percent of Israel’s imports. But they include British-made components for the F-35 fighter jet, which the Israeli air force has used in strikes on Gaza.
Critics say Britain has adopted a series of half-measures against Israel, and then only after other countries, like France, acted first.
“They’re not leading, they’re following,” said Daniel Levy, who runs the U.S./Middle East Project, an institute in London and New York. “Left to their own devices, they would be as undisruptive as possible to the bilateral relationship. They put their finger in the air and say, ‘We need to move a bit.’”
Mr. Levy said the decision to bar Israeli officials, but not companies, could be calculated to defuse demonstrations. Britain recently banned a pro-Palestinian group, Palestine Action, and declared it a terrorist organization.
On Wednesday, Tony Blair, a former Labour prime minister who informally advises Mr. Starmer, took part in a White House meeting about the postwar future of Gaza. Mr. Blair served for eight years as the envoy for the Quartet, a coalition of Western countries that has tried fruitlessly to broker a peace settlement between Israel and the Palestinians. He declined to discuss his role in the meeting.
Though Mr. Starmer has mostly stayed in lock step with President Trump on the war in Ukraine, there is growing daylight between them on Israel and Gaza. During a visit to Britain earlier this month, Vice President JD Vance said the Trump administration had no plans to follow Britain in recognizing a Palestinian state.
“I don’t know what it would really mean to recognize a Palestinian state, given the lack of a functional government there,” Mr. Vance said, adding that he expected “some disagreements” about how to end the suffering in Gaza, where observers warn of spreading famine.
Lara Jakes contributed reporting from Rome
Mark Landler is the London bureau chief of The Times, covering the United Kingdom, as well as American foreign policy in Europe, Asia and the Middle East. He has been a journalist for more than three decades.
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