It is the second air show that will take place without Israeli companies. After the Bourget show last June, Israeli defense companies were excluded from the upcoming Dubai air show after a “technical evaluation,” the event’s organizer said on Tuesday, without providing further details about the background to the war in Gaza.
Six Israeli defense companies would participate in the next edition of this biennial fair, one of the most important in the world, which will take place from November 17 to 21 in the rich Gulf emirate.
“There has been a technical evaluation, which we do for all the companies that participate,” he said.
The decision was made by a “technical committee,” he added, without giving further details.
Israel’s first participation in the Dubai Airshow in 2023 had been sealed at the start of the Gaza War, with stands deserted.
Last June, the stands of Israeli companies originally participating in the Bourget air show had been covered with black tarps.
Tense geopolitical context
The United Arab Emirates normalized its relations with Israel as part of the Abraham Accords in 2020. But the war in Gaza deteriorated Israel’s image with its Arab neighbors.
Tuesday marks the second anniversary of the bloody October 7, 2023 attack led by the Palestinian Islamist movement Hamas in southern Israel, prompting a devastating Israeli response in the Gaza Strip.
Source: BFM TV
