Israeli defense companies have been barred from the upcoming Dubai Airshow after a “technical review,” its organizer said Tuesday, without providing further details.
Registrations were withdrawn for all six Israeli defense companies that were due to take part, said Tim Hawes, managing director of Informa Markets, which organizes the show.
“The [Israeli] exhibitors that were previously coming won’t be participating,” said Hawes, on the sidelines of a press conference to announce details of the exhibition.
“There was a technical review which we do of all companies that take part in the show,” he said, adding the decision had been made by the airshow’s technical committee.
Hawes did not elaborate on the reasons for the decision. The next edition of the biennial airshow, one of the world’s biggest, takes place in November.
The Emirati ban follows recent European restrictions on Israeli defense firms, including a reported Dutch veto on Israeli participation in a large, upcoming military exhibition in Rotterdam. In June, several Israeli companies were barred from displaying at the Paris Air Show, despite France’s President Emmanuel Macron saying in January that Israeli firms would be allowed to attend.
Spain has also announced an arms embargo on Israel, and other countries, including Britain and Canada, have taken steps to limit their defense trade with Israel.
Israel’s inaugural participation in the Emirati exhibition in 2023 was overshadowed by the October 7 Hamas massacre and hostage-taking, and Israel’s ensuing offensive against the terror group in Gaza. Israeli defense exhibitions were empty and unstaffed at the start of the show as Israelis returned from abroad en masse and reservists were drafted to fight.
The United Arab Emirates is among a handful of Arab nations with ties to Israel.
It established normal diplomatic relations with Israel under the US-brokered Abraham Accords in 2020, but those relations have been strained by the war in Gaza, which entered its third year on Tuesday amid ceasefire-hostage talks in Egypt.
Nava Freiberg contributed to this report.