Sat 01 June 2024:
France has banned Israeli companies from participating in this year’s annual Eurosatory arms and defence industry exhibition in Villepinte near Paris next month, the event’s organisers and the French Defence Ministry said on Friday, Reuters reports.
“Following a decision by government authorities, there will not be an Israeli stand at the Eurosatory 2024 salon,” a spokesperson for the organisers said via email.
The Defence Ministry told Reuters that: “Conditions are no longer met to host Israeli companies at the show at a time when the President is calling for Israel to cease operations in Rafah.”
France’s announcement came just days after Israel bombed a camp for displaced people in Rafah in southern Gaza, setting off international outrage and widespread protests in France.
Earlier this week, President Emmanuel Macron said he was “outraged” over an Israeli airstrike that triggered a fire killing 45 people in a tent camp in the Gazan city of Rafah and prompting an outcry from global leaders.
In a social media post on Friday, Israeli war cabinet minister Benny Gantz said he told the French Prime Minister Gabriel Attal that the decision to forbid an Israeli delegation from participating in the defence fair “ultimately rewards terror”.
שוחחתי הערב עם ראש ממשלת צרפת גבריאל אטל.
בפתח הדברים, ביקשתי להביע את הערכתי לעמידתו האיתנה מול גילויי האנטישמיות בצרפת, בייחוד מאז השבעה באוקטובר, וביקשתי ממנו להמשיך במהלכים החשובים להגנה על הקהילה היהודית בצרפת.
ביקשתי מאטל לפעול בכדי שצרפת תבחן מחדש את ההחלטה לאסור על הגעת…
— בני גנץ – Benny Gantz (@gantzbe) May 31, 2024
Israel has ignored those warnings and pushed on with a major offensive against Rafah, displacing about one million people from the city. The assault, which saw Israeli forces take over the Rafah crossing with Egypt, has also worsened the humanitarian crisis in Gaza.
Last week, the International Court of Justice (ICJ) – the top United Nations court – ordered Israel to halt its attacks on Rafah.
At least 36,284 Palestinians have been killed and 82,057 wounded in Israel’s war on Gaza since October 7.
SOURCE: INDEPENDENT PRESS AND NEWS AGENCIES
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