Falcon29
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Israel reveals more than $7 billion in arms sales, but few names - Diplomacy and Defense Israel News | Haaretz
Israel reveals more than $7 billion in arms sales, but few names
UN lists at least 20 countries that have purchased weapons from Israel, but are missing from the Defense Ministry report.
The government on Wednesday released a very partial list of the recipients of Israeli arms sales over the past two years, saying that Israeli weapons had been sold to Spain, the United States, Kenya, South Korea and the United Kingdom in 2011 and 2012.
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Who does Israel sell arms to? The Defense Ministry won't tell - Diplomacy and Defense Israel News | Haaretz
The Defense Ministry objects to any transparency or openness about Israeli arms sales, despite the serious failures that have recently been revealed in its export control department, as reported in Haaretz by Gili Cohen, and the recent forced resignation of department head Meir Shalit. The ministry almost always refrains from launching criminal investigations of exporters who break the law, preferring to settle the cases with administrative fines – or in other words, behind closed doors in the Defense Ministry, without anything being revealed.
Now, the ministry is fighting a petition to the court by attorney Eitay Mack seeking publication of the names of the countries that bought arms from Israel. Its excuse, as always, is that this secrecy is necessary for security: The customers demand it, and if they don’t get it, Israel’s defense exports will be harmed. The customers can’t be asked to confirm this, since their names are classified, so the court is simply being asked to trust the ministry and reject the petition.
The ministry’s response to the court – that Israel sold arms in 2011-12 to the United States, Spain, Kenya, Britain and South Korea, but its other customers can’t be named – seems like a bad joke. First, the ministry itself boasts of the great achievements of Israel’s defense industry and the billions of dollars of business it does worldwide. Second, every international defense journal or website reports at length on the deals of Israel’s defense companies.
But you don’t even have to rely on media reports: Just a few months ago, an official British government reportrevealed a much longer list of countries that bought weaponry from Israeli companies. To get permits to buy British components for their products, the Israeli companies had to tell the British authorities which country was buying the product.
The British report, covering the years 2008-12, listed India, Singapore, Turkey, Vietnam, South Korea, Japan, Sweden, Portugal, United States, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, Colombia, Holland, Italy, Germany, Spain, Thailand, Macedonia, Belgium, Brazil, Chile, Switzerland, Ecuador, Mexico, Finland, Ireland, Luxembourg, Equatorial Guinea, Poland, Argentina and Egypt as Israeli customers. Even countries that have no official relations with Israel appeared on the list: Pakistan, Algeria, the United Arab Emirates and Morocco. The report also said Britain refused to approve components for products destined for Russia, Sri Lanka, Turkmenistan and Azerbaijan. In total, that’s 41 countries, and there are others not listed in the British report.
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I know people here didn't relate to the British report so don't blame me. This isn't about the British report which probably is NOT a 100% accurate which is why this thread is about the DEFENSE MINISTRY REPORT and why they won't disclose names.
Although selling weapons to autocratic regimes is nothing new of any western nations who claim to only support democracy in the Middle East. That's laughable.
Israel is no different.
Israel reveals more than $7 billion in arms sales, but few names
UN lists at least 20 countries that have purchased weapons from Israel, but are missing from the Defense Ministry report.
The government on Wednesday released a very partial list of the recipients of Israeli arms sales over the past two years, saying that Israeli weapons had been sold to Spain, the United States, Kenya, South Korea and the United Kingdom in 2011 and 2012.
...............
Who does Israel sell arms to? The Defense Ministry won't tell - Diplomacy and Defense Israel News | Haaretz
The Defense Ministry objects to any transparency or openness about Israeli arms sales, despite the serious failures that have recently been revealed in its export control department, as reported in Haaretz by Gili Cohen, and the recent forced resignation of department head Meir Shalit. The ministry almost always refrains from launching criminal investigations of exporters who break the law, preferring to settle the cases with administrative fines – or in other words, behind closed doors in the Defense Ministry, without anything being revealed.
Now, the ministry is fighting a petition to the court by attorney Eitay Mack seeking publication of the names of the countries that bought arms from Israel. Its excuse, as always, is that this secrecy is necessary for security: The customers demand it, and if they don’t get it, Israel’s defense exports will be harmed. The customers can’t be asked to confirm this, since their names are classified, so the court is simply being asked to trust the ministry and reject the petition.
The ministry’s response to the court – that Israel sold arms in 2011-12 to the United States, Spain, Kenya, Britain and South Korea, but its other customers can’t be named – seems like a bad joke. First, the ministry itself boasts of the great achievements of Israel’s defense industry and the billions of dollars of business it does worldwide. Second, every international defense journal or website reports at length on the deals of Israel’s defense companies.
But you don’t even have to rely on media reports: Just a few months ago, an official British government reportrevealed a much longer list of countries that bought weaponry from Israeli companies. To get permits to buy British components for their products, the Israeli companies had to tell the British authorities which country was buying the product.
The British report, covering the years 2008-12, listed India, Singapore, Turkey, Vietnam, South Korea, Japan, Sweden, Portugal, United States, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, Colombia, Holland, Italy, Germany, Spain, Thailand, Macedonia, Belgium, Brazil, Chile, Switzerland, Ecuador, Mexico, Finland, Ireland, Luxembourg, Equatorial Guinea, Poland, Argentina and Egypt as Israeli customers. Even countries that have no official relations with Israel appeared on the list: Pakistan, Algeria, the United Arab Emirates and Morocco. The report also said Britain refused to approve components for products destined for Russia, Sri Lanka, Turkmenistan and Azerbaijan. In total, that’s 41 countries, and there are others not listed in the British report.
................................
I know people here didn't relate to the British report so don't blame me. This isn't about the British report which probably is NOT a 100% accurate which is why this thread is about the DEFENSE MINISTRY REPORT and why they won't disclose names.
Although selling weapons to autocratic regimes is nothing new of any western nations who claim to only support democracy in the Middle East. That's laughable.
Israel is no different.
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