Israel's Western Allies Signal Cooling Support for War Effort
October 20, 2024
12:18 PM
Reading time: 3 minutes
The Guardian Australia news portal reported on Saturday that Canberra is reviewing 66 defense-related export permits to Israel. The permits were approved before Hamas launched a massacre on Israel on October 7th 2023, starting a war that is ongoing. The review, which is similar to the review being carried out of defense-related export licenses in the UK, could mean Israel will have a more difficult time acquiring some of the weapons and ammunition it needs to fight this war.
However, Australian officials quoted in the report were at pains to point out that Australia has not exported weapons or ammunition to Israel in several years, and that the permits were being reviewed on a case by case basis in order to determine if the IDF was using them in accordance with international humanitarian law.
In a related story, France has announced that Israeli firms which have produced equipment for the IDF to be used in the Gaza conflict will not be welcome at the upcoming Euronaval military exhibit in France.
"French President Macron’s actions are a disgrace to the French nation and the values of the free world, which he claims to uphold," Defense Minister Yoav Gallant wrote in a post on X/Twitter, following the report.
"The decision to discriminate against Israeli defense industries in France a second time - aids Israel’s enemies during war. This builds on the decision to place an arms embargo on the Jewish State. France has adopted and is consistently implementing a hostile policy towards the Jewish people. We will continue defending our nation against enemies on 7 different fronts and fighting for our future - with or without France."