Thursday, 31 October 2024

 

French court overturns ban against Israeli arms makers for Euronaval exhibit

The ban was imposed earlier this month following French President Emmanuel Macron’s criticism of the massive number of civilian deaths in Gaza and Lebanon

The Paris Commercial Court ruled on 30 October against a French government decision to ban Israeli defense firms from participating in the upcoming Euronaval arms exhibition, which will be held in France in November. 

The French court ordered the exhibition organizers “to suspend the execution of the measures adopted against the Israeli exhibiting companies whose stands were prohibited at the Euronaval 2024 exhibition until the closing date of the exhibition,” the ruling said.

The petition to reverse the ban was submitted by the Manufacturers Association of Israel, the Israel-France Chamber of Commerce, Israel Shipyards, and representatives of five other Israeli weapons manufacturers.

“This is a huge victory for the rule of law and the independence of justice,” said one of the lawyers representing Israeli defense companies, calling the ban “ill-founded and illegal.” Among the firms represented were Israel’s Elbit Systems and Rafael Advanced Defense Systems.

The Euronaval organizers announced the banagainst Israeli companies on 16 October. 

“The French government informed Euronaval of its decision to approve the participation of Israeli delegations at Euronaval 2024, without any stand or exhibition of equipment,” the show’s organizers said at the time. 

The decision followed tensions between Israeli leadership and French President Emmanuel Macron, who recently criticized the massive number of civilian casualties in Tel Aviv’s military campaigns in the Gaza Strip and Lebanon

Around 2,000 people have been killed by Israeli attacks across Lebanon since last month. In Gaza, the official death toll has surpassed 43,000 since October last year.

The 29th edition of the Euronaval show is expected to begin on 4 November. 

Several European countries have suspended or restricted arms sales or weapons deals with Israeli defense firms, including Belgium, Canada, Italy, and Spain. 

According to an analysis written for the New Arab by Jonathan Fenton-Harvey, the ruling of the International Court of Justice (ICJ) in January ordering Israel to halt genocidal actions “established a precedent in domestic courts among Israel’s Western allies,” which has prompted many to restrict or ban arms sales that could be used in the violation of international law. 

Spain’s Interior Ministry announced on 29 October that it has canceled a contract to buy ammunition for its Civil Guard police force from an Israeli defense company. This decision marked the first signal that a Spanish pledge to stop arms deals with Israel would include purchases and not just sales.

“The Spanish government maintains the commitment not to sell weapons to the Israeli state since the armed conflict broke out in the territory of Gaza,” Spain’s Interior Ministry announced. 

Thursday’s ruling was not the first by a French court to overturn a ban related to Israeli arms.

In June this year, the Paris Court of Appeal reversed the decision taken by the Bobigny court days earlier, which banned the entry of Israeli delegations and Israeli arms subsidiaries into the EUROSATORY arms show. 

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