Israeli Companies Confirmed Not To Follow Dubai Airshow Next Month

The Dubai Airshow 2023. (Wikimedia Commons/Mztourist)

JAKARTA - Israeli companies will certainly not take part in one of the largest aerospace exhibitions in the world, Dubai Airshow, after previously there were a number of companies listed to take part in the exhibition.

Organizers said on Tuesday Israeli companies would certainly not participate in Dubai Airshow in November.

Six Israeli defense companies were initially listed for the biennial event, said Timothy Hawes, managing director of Informa Markets, organizer of Dubai Airshow.

"Israeli companies will not participate in this exhibition," Hawes told The National.

The decision follows a review by the air exhibition technical committee, which assesses all companies participating in the event and makes decisions, he added.

Dubai Airshow organizers said the defense sector covered 40 to 50 percent of the total exhibition participants.

"We have 98 countries representing the whole world and a large number of fantastic defense exhibitions," Hawes explained.

"We have 20 other state pavilions that will showcase a variety of products, both commercial, defense, and other fields," he added.

The comments confirmed the UAE's position after a foreign media report last month.

The move comes after an Israeli attack on Qatar in September and its ongoing attack on Gaza, which began on October 7, 2023.

Israel's attack on Doha in September killed five Hamas officials and a Qatar security officer. The airstrike on a building in the capital Qatar on September 9 argued that it was addressed to Hamas leaders on board. The attack sparked outrage across the region.

Israel debuted in Dubai Airshow in November 2023, shortly after the latest conflict in Gaza broke out.

Being one of the largest aerospace exhibitions in the world, Dubai Airshow will take place from November 17 to 21 at Al Maktoum International Airport, also known as DWC.