Israel claims ‘discrimination’ over UK ban on delegation to London arms fair
Israel’s Defence Ministry has criticised the UK government for barring its officials from an arms fair in London next month, calling it an act of “discrimination”.
In a statement, the ministry said the decision not to invite Israeli government officials to next month’s DSEI UK exhibition amounted to “a deliberate and regrettable act of discrimination against Israel’s representatives”.
It claimed that the decision played “into the hands of extremists” and gave “legitimacy to terrorism”.
Israel’s Defence Ministry has previously had a major presence at the annual exhibition of weapons and military equipment, but its officials have not been invited to this year’s event as a response to Israel’s actions in Gaza.
Israeli arms companies will be able to take part in the event as normal.
UK government explains why Israeli officials barred from arms fair
We reported earlier that the British government had barred an Israeli government delegation from a major arms fair in London next month, prompting claims of discrimination from Israel.
Here’s what a UK government spokesperson had to say about the rationale for the decision not to invite Israeli officials to the exhibition.
“The Israeli government’s decision to further escalate its military operation in Gaza is wrong,” read the statement. “As a result, we can confirm that no Israeli government delegation will be invited to attend DSEI UK 2025.”
The statement added: “There must be a diplomatic solution to end this war now, with an immediate ceasefire, the return of the hostages and a surge in humanitarian aid to the people of Gaza.”
Microsoft fires four workers over protests against firm’s ties to Israel
Microsoft has fired four employees who participated in protests on company premises over the firm’s ties to Israel, including two who took part in a sit-in this week at the office of the company’s president.
Anna Hattle and Riki Fameli received voicemails informing them that they were fired, the protest group No A zure for Apartheid said in a statement on Wednesday.
It added on Thursday that two more workers, Nisreen Jaradat and Julius Shan, were also sacked.
They were among demonstrators who had recently set up encampments at Microsoft headquarters to protest against the company’s support for Israel as it wages its war on Gaza.
Read more here.
