Major Outlets Including Disclose Report
French Government: "Intended for Re-export from Israel"
Despite France's calls for its allies to ban arms exports to Israel in order to pressure for a halt to airstrikes on the Gaza Strip, reports have emerged that France is still supplying military components to Israel.
On June 4 (local time), major international media outlets, including the investigative outlet Disclose, reported that an Israeli cargo ship was scheduled to dock at a port near Marseille in southern France on June 5 to load 14 tons of components related to automatic rifles. The ship was expected to leave the French port later that night, pass through Italy, and arrive at the port of Haifa in northern Israel.
These components are small metal parts that link automatic rifle cartridges, enabling rapid-fire operation. They are manufactured by Eurolinks, which is headquartered in Marseille. According to the media, IMI, a subsidiary of Elbit Systems?one of Israel's leading defense companies?ordered the parts. IMI describes itself as the exclusive supplier to the Israel Defense Forces and supplies ammunition in various calibers.
The media also reported that this shipment would be the third this year, with approximately 20 tons shipped on April 3 and two million components loaded onto a cargo ship on May 22. Additionally, in March of last year, it was reported that Eurolinks sold 100,000 components to IMI under authorization from the French government in October 2023, after the outbreak of the war in Gaza.
At the time, Defense Minister Sebastien Lecornu claimed that these components would be re-exported by Israel to third-country customers. However, eight months later, during a government question session in the Senate, Minister Lecornu changed his statement, saying, "After being assembled in Israel, these components were returned to France," and therefore, "France did not sell weapons to Israel."
Regarding the current export of components, the Ministry of Defense stated that this shipment follows "the same pattern as before," and that "these components are not used directly by the Israeli military but are re-exported to third countries," according to Radio France Info. However, Disclose pointed out that there are no records of the Israeli or French embassies verifying or supervising the final recipient of the components.
The local port branch of the militant General Confederation of Labor (CGT) issued a statement after the report, announcing that "the container holding the Eurolinks components has been separated" and "will not be loaded onto the ship bound for Israel." They added, "We refuse to be complicit in the massacre being perpetrated by the Israeli government."
Since May of last year, after dozens of civilians were killed in an Israeli attack on a refugee camp in the Gaza Strip, France has increased its criticism of Israel. It has banned Israeli companies from participating in international defense exhibitions and has called on its allies to prohibit arms exports to Israel, causing friction with Israeli authorities.
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