The move follows French restrictions on Israeli defense companies and support for a U.N. arms embargo amid tensions over Paris’s stance during the war.
Israel’s Defense Ministry has halted all defense procurement from France due to what it views as Paris’s hostile stance toward Jerusalem in the aftermath of Hamas’s Oct. 7, 2023, massacre, Hebrew media reported on Tuesday.
Israeli Defense Ministry Director-General Amir Baram decided to end all contracts with France and instead rely on Israeli-made equipment and purchases from friendly countries, according to Israel’s Channel 12 News.
The move follows French restrictions on Israeli participation in defense exhibitions and its support for a U.N. resolution calling for an arms embargo on Israel.
In the middle of the June 12-day war with Iran, Israel accused the French government of blocking parts of the Israeli pavilion at the Paris Air Show, breaking understandings reached on Israel’s participation and the principles of equality. Baram at the time called the move “absolutely, bluntly antisemitic” and accused France of “commercial exclusion to prevent successful Israeli industries from competing with French ones.”
