Trending 
The organiser of the upcoming Dubai Airshow announced on Tuesday that it excluded Israeli defence firms from the event following a “technical review.”
All six Israeli defence firms scheduled to participate have had their registrations cancelled, according to Tim Hawes, Managing Director of Informa Markets, the organisation behind the event.
Hawes did not provide further information regarding the rationale behind this decision.
“The (Israeli) exhibitors that were previously coming won’t be participating,” said Hawes, on the sidelines of a press conference to announce details of the exhibition.
“There was a technical review which we do of all companies that take part in the show,” he said, adding the decision had been taken by the airshow’s technical committee.
The next edition of the biennial airshow, one of the largest in the world, is scheduled to take place in November.
The outbreak of the Gaza conflict marred Israel’s first appearance in 2023. At the beginning of the show, Israeli defence exhibits were unoccupied and unstaffed.
The United Arab Emirates is among a few Arab countries that maintain relations with Israel. It established formal diplomatic ties with Israel following the Abraham Accords in 2020.
Since then, the Gaza war has significantly deteriorated Israel’s reputation with its Arab neighbours.
Tuesday marks the second anniversary of the October 7, 2023, attacks by Hamas, which started the conflict, resulting in tens of thousands of deaths and extensive destruction throughout Gaza.
