Israeli defense firms barred from major Dutch arms fair amid Gaza war — report

Organizers of exhibition cite ‘security and organizational’ reasons for ban, though decision said linked to policy shift on Israel

By Nava Freiberg

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20 August 2025, 9:21 pm

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Nava Freiberg is The Times of Israel's deputy diplomatic correspondent.

Israeli defense technology company Elbit Systems' booth at the Eurosatory trade fair, in Villepinte, a northern suburb of Paris, June 13, 2022. (Emmanuel Dunand/AFP)

File: Israeli defense technology company Elbit Systems' booth at the Eurosatory trade fair, in Villepinte, a northern suburb of Paris, June 13, 2022. (Emmanuel Dunand/AFP)

Israeli defense companies will not be permitted to participate in the Netherlands’ largest military exhibition, Hebrew media reported on Wednesday.

The NEDS event, held annually in Rotterdam and focused largely on the naval sector, has in recent years hosted Israel’s biggest defense contractors, including Israel Aerospace Industries, Elbit Systems and Rafael. But the event’s organizers wrote in a recent letter that this year’s event, scheduled for November 20, will bar Israeli firms, a Globes report said, citing Israeli sources.

Israeli sources confirmed to Globes that they will not attend. Organizers cited “security and organizational” reasons for the ban and did not respond to Globes’ requests for comment.

According to the report, the decision appears to be linked to the Gaza war and is part of a broader Dutch policy shift relating to Israel.

The Netherlands has been pushing within the European Union to impose economic and trade sanctions on Israel. In May, Dutch Foreign Minister Caspar Veldkamp backed a legal review of the EU Association Agreement with Israel — the framework governing bilateral ties — which later found “indications” that Israel had violated the human rights requirements of the agreement. Since then, the Netherlands has sought to suspend Israel’s participation in the EU’s Horizon research funding program and reduce trade links.

The Netherlands already halted direct arms exports to Israel several months after the Hamas-led October 7, 2023, massacre that launched the war in Gaza. It continues, however, to supply Israel indirectly with F-35 fighter jet parts via third countries, according to Globes.

An attendee walks past the closed Israel Aerospace Industries (IAI) Israeli Pavilion during the 55th edition of the International Paris Air Show at the Paris Le Bourget Airport, on June 16, 2025. On June 16, 2025, France blocked access to the stands of five Israeli arms manufacturers at the Paris Air Show for displaying ‘offensive weapons,’ according to a French government source. (ALAIN JOCARD / AFP)

The Dutch ban follows other recent European restrictions on Israeli defense firms. In June, several Israeli companies were barred from displaying at the Paris Air Show, despite France’s President Emmanuel Macron saying in January that Israeli firms would be allowed to attend.

The Defense Ministry condemned that last-minute decision by the event organizers, acting on behalf of the French government.

Last October, after Macron’s government said it would prevent Israeli companies from exhibiting at the Euronaval arms show, then-defense minister Yoav Gallant called his actions “a disgrace to the French nation and the values of the free world.”

The effort to put restrictions on the exhibitors was ultimately blocked by a court.

Macron’s administration had also tried to restrict Israeli companies at a land defense and security exhibition five months earlier, but the decision was likewise overturned by a court.

Emanuel Fabian contributed to this report.