Israeli firms banned from upcoming defense fair in France

French authorities have banned Israeli defense companies from exhibiting at a trade show next month near Paris, organizers announced on Friday

“By decision of the government authorities, there will be no stand for the Israeli defense industry at the Eurosatory 2024 fair,” organizers Coges Events said.

Neither Coges nor the Defense Ministry provided an explanation.

Some 74 Israeli firms had been set to be represented at the event from June 17 to 21 at fairgrounds close to Paris’ main international airport, with Coges previously saying around 10 of them were to exhibit weapons.

The announcement comes days after the Israeli bombing of a tent camp for the displaced in the Gaza Strip sparked international outrage and protests in France.

The Israeli air raids killed at least 45 people in the town of Rafah in the night of Sunday to Monday in the south of the besieged Palestinian territory, according to local authorities, almost eight months into the latest Gaza war.

Israel’s offensive has killed more than 36,000 people in the Palestinian enclave, mostly women and children, according to local health officials.

The conflict erupted after Palestinian resistance group Hamas attacked southern Israel on Oct. 7, which resulted in the deaths of nearly 1,200 people, according to Israeli figures.

A group of activists last week in a legal warning urged Coges to take measures to avoid the buying and selling of weapons that could be used in “crimes” committed in Gaza or other parts of the occupied Palestinian territories.

ASER, Stop Arming Israel, Urgency Palestine and the France-Palestine Solidarity Association also warned against profits from the fair “reinforcing the economic power of firms likely to participate in these crimes.”