(Maariv) A few months ago, Israel's Rafael military industries bid on a $300 million contract to supply a missile system to the British government, and sent its Spike system to Britain for evaluation. The British Army assessed the system, but then refused to return it to Israel. When the Israel Ministry of Defense made inquiries, they were told that returning the Israeli missiles to Israel required a British "export license." When the license wasn't issued, the British explained that EU rules prevented them from issuing an export license for arms to states in an area of conflict. After the intervention of the Foreign Ministry at the highest levels, the missiles were returned to Israel last week after an unnecessary two-month delay. The Israel Ministry of Defense knows of 140 cases where the British government has refused to issue export licenses to British firms seeking to trade with Israel.
2002-11-27 00:00:00Full ArticleBACK Visit the Daily Alert Archive