Defense Ministry Director General Amir Baram has instructed officials to scale back defense procurement from France, with the aim of ending it altogether, against the backdrop of France's conduct toward Israel since the start of the war.
The tension reached a peak on Tuesday after US President Donald Trump said France had prevented an American plane carrying munitions for Israel from flying through French airspace. Officials at the Defense Ministry said alternative solutions had been found, but stressed that the incident was serious and could not be ignored.
According to a report in The Jerusalem Post, the decision to end defense procurement from France was made by Defense Minister Israel Katz and Baram. Aside from contracts that are still being carried out, Israel will completely halt defense trade ties with France.
Israeli sources told the newspaper that over the past two years, France had consistently adopted a hostile policy toward Israel, making it impossible to rely on it in procurement matters. The sources said France's refusal to allow the American plane into its airspace was "the straw that broke the camel's back" for Israel.
Israel also argues that France did not use its close ties with Lebanon to pressure the government there to disarm Hezbollah, the Lebanese terrorist organization, and instead acted to limit Israel's ability to fight the group.
