Dubai Airshow nixes Israel attendance over bombing in Qatar

JERUSALEM and LONDON — The participation of Israeli government and defense-industry officials in the November Dubai Air Show in the United Arab Emirates has come into question after event organizers banned them from the show, Israeli defense industry officials confirmed to Defense News at the DSEI expo in London on Wednesday.

According to Israeli companies, the official reason given was related to security concerns.

The organizers’ move became public a day after Israel carried out an air strike targeting Hamas negotiators in an attack in Doha on Tuesday.

The Dubai Airshow is one of the largest aerospace exhibitions in the Middle East that takes place every two years.

Israeli defense companies left open the possibility of attending the event in hopes that the situation would change in the coming weeks.

Qatari officers present on the DSEI show floor told Defense News they were “very angry” following the news of Israel’s attack on their country’s capital and that it was “upsetting” to think that Israeli weapon makers were on the floor near them at the exhibition.

Since normalizing ties in 2020, the UAE and Israel have deepened their defense cooperation in several fields. The following year was marked by several major defense projects inked between the two nations.

Elbit Systems opened its first office in the UAE; the state-owned firm IAI and Emirati defense conglomerate Edge Group signed a contract to develop an unmanned surface vessel together; and Rafael formed a joint venture with the UAE-based G42 group in 2021 to develop artificial-intelligence and big-data technologies.

In 2024, IAI and Edge Group also signed an agreement to establish a center in the UAE to maintain and market the Israeli company’s advanced electro-optic arrays.

Tzally Greenberg is the Israel correspondent for Defense News. He has experience reporting on economic affairs as well as defense and cyber companies.

Elisabeth Gosselin-Malo was a Europe correspondent for Defense News. She covers a wide range of topics related to military procurement and international security, and specializes in reporting on the aviation sector. She is based in Milan, Italy.

耶路撒冷和伦敦——以色列国防工业官员周三在伦敦举行的DSEI防务展上向《防务新闻》证实，由于活动组织者禁止以色列政府和国防工业官员参加11月在阿拉伯联合酋长国举行的迪拜航展，他们能否参加该航展受到了质疑。

据以色列公司称，官方给出的理由与安全问题有关。

在以色列周二对多哈的哈马斯谈判代表发动空袭的第二天，组织者的这一举动被公之于众。

迪拜航展是中东地区规模最大的航空航天展览会之一，每两年举办一次。

以色列国防公司并未排除参加此次活动的可能性，希望未来几周局势能够有所改变。

出席DSEI防务展的卡塔尔军官告诉《防务新闻》，在得知以色列袭击卡塔尔首都的消息后，他们“非常愤怒”，而且想到以色列武器制造商就在他们附近的展厅里，他们感到“不安”。

自2020年关系正常化以来，阿联酋和以色列在多个领域深化了防务合作。次年，两国签署了多项重大防务合作项目。

埃尔比特系统公司在阿联酋开设了第一家办事处；国有企业以色列航空工业公司 (IAI) 与阿联酋国​​防集团 Edge Group 签署了一份合同，共同开发无人水面舰艇；拉斐尔公司于 2021 年与总部位于阿联酋的 G42 集团成立了一家合资企业，以开发人工智能和大数据技术。

2024 年，以色列航空航天工业公司 (IAI) 和 Edge Group 还签署了一项协议，在阿联酋建立一个中心，以维护和销售这家以色列公司的先进光电阵列。

特扎利·格林伯格是《防务新闻》的以色列记者。他拥有丰富的经济事务以及国防和网络安全公司报道经验。

伊丽莎白·戈斯林-马洛曾任《防务新闻》欧洲通讯员。她的报道涵盖军事采购和国际安全等广泛领域，尤其擅长航空领域的报道。她常驻意大利米兰。