DUBAI (Reuters) – Exhibition stands for Israeli weapons makers Israel Aerospace Industries (IAI) and Rafael Advanced Defense Systems were empty at the start of the opening day of the week-long Dubai Airshow on Monday, amid the Israel-Hamas war in Gaza.
Israeli companies have only formally participated at conferences and exhibitions in the United Arab Emirates since 2020, when the Gulf Arab power established ties with Israel.
It was not clear why the IAI and Rafael stands were empty. Neither company immediately responded to emailed requests for comment.
An exhibition stand for the locally registered company of Israeli firm Elbit Systems was staffed. One staff member declined to answer press questions.
Elbit Systems established the UAE-registered company in 2021 with the stated aim of establishing long-term cooperation with the UAE military. Its parent company has in recent weeks publicly stated its support for Israel and the Israeli military.
The mounting death toll from Israel’s invasion of Gaza – launched in retaliation for cross-border attacks on Oct. 7 by the Palestinian Hamas militant group that governs the enclave – has provoked outrage in Arab capitals.
Arab and Muslim countries called for a halt of arms sales to Israel at an extraordinary joint-meeting between the Arab League and the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) states. The meeting was attended by UAE Vice President Sheikh Mansour bin Zayed Al Nahyan, a brother to Emirati President Sheikh Mohamed.
The UAE became the most prominent Arab nation to establish diplomatic ties with Israel in 30 years under the United States-brokered Abraham Accords in 2020. That paved the way for other Arab states to build ties with Israel by breaking with decades of Arab policy calling for a Palestinian state before normalisation.
(Reporting by Alexander Cornwell; Editing by Christopher Cushing)
