The British Government from the armory fair has excluded the official Israeli government delegation, but Israeli armament companies are still involved. Approximately 300 people protested before the venue of the event.
Hundreds of propalestinian demonstrators gathered on Tuesday before the venue of the DSEI armory fair in London. It is held for the tensions between Britain and Israel in connection with the Gaza War without the presence of the Israeli government representatives. According to the AFP report, TASR reports this.
Israel is the fifth largest national delegation at the fair
Approximately 300 protesters waved Palestinian flags and held banners with inscriptions like: “Britain: Stop the armaments of Israel. Stop genocide in Gaza”.
The British Government has excluded Israeli officials from this four -day event, but has an Israeli military technology producer Elbit. The exhibitions also have Israel Aerospace Industries and Rafael Advanced Defense Systems, which makes Israel the fifth largest national delegation at the Excel London exhibition center.
Israeli government to the fair has not been invited
At the end of August, the British Defense Ministry announced that they did not invite any Israeli government delegation to the fair, and the department appealed to Israeli “decision to escalate a military operation in Gaza”.
Israel described the exclusion of its DSEI officials as discrimination. Nevertheless, on Tuesday, Israeli President Yicchak Herzog is to arrive in Britain on Tuesday.
A record number of exhibitors and visitors are expected to be at the London event, as global conflicts, including the war between Russia and Ukraine, have forced European and other governments to increase defense spending, AFP notes.
Britain plans to recognize the Palestinian State in September
A similar step in June was taken by the organizers of the Aviation Fair in Paris, who forbade Israeli companies there to issue offensive weapon systems.
Britain plans to recognize the Palestinian State at the UN General Assembly in September. In May, she suspended negotiations on a business agreement with Israel for the Gaza Strip, as well as some export licenses for weapons used in the Palestinian enclave, but some components produced in the UK, such as components for the F-35 Israeli fighters, continue to export.
