UK’s bars of Israeli officials from the Defense Commercial Exhibition in London, cited the escalation of the Gaza war

London – The UK government prevented Israeli officials from attending a major weapons conference in London, amid widespread criticism on an escalation The war in Gaza. The British Ministry of Defense confirmed to CBS News that representatives of the Israeli Ministry of Defense have not been invited to the International Defense Security and Equipment Conference (DSEI), which will be held in London every year.

A UK government spokesman said in a statement, “The decision of the Israeli government to increase its military escalation in Gaza is wrong. As a result, we can confirm that no Israeli government delegation will be invited to attend DSEI UK 2025,” a spokesman for the UK government said in a statement.

However, Israeli defense industry members, including Israeli defense companies in the United Kingdom, are still allowed to attend the conference, which begins on Saturday.

In response to the decision, a spokesman for the Israeli Ministry of Defense said in a statement: “While Israel participates on multiple fronts against Islamic extremists and terrorist organizations – forces that also threaten the west of the corridors and international defense – this decision that Britain plays in the hands of extremists, is legally cultivated for terrorism.

DSEI is a commercial exhibition that withdraws representatives from various governments and private defense companies that produce weapons and other military equipment.

British Prime Minister Kiir Starmer has made increasing pressure on the government of his Israeli counterpart, Benjamin Netanyahu, to manage the ongoing war in Gaza.

In a speech on July 29, Starmer announced that the United Kingdom will move to recognize a Palestinian state unless Israel ended what he called the “horrific situation” in the Palestinian territories.

On August 8, Starmer again criticized Netanyahu’s treatment with the conflict by saying that the decision to expand the war to Gaza City – which took place on Friday with the beginning of a new Israeli attack to take the devastating metropolis – “will not do anything to end this conflict” and “just bring more blood.”

The decision to prevent Israeli officials from the commercial exhibition came just two months after the authorities in France Closed off the compartments of five Israeli defense companies At the Paris Air Show in June. The cabins showed “offensive weapons” that can be used in Gaza – in violation of agreements with the Israeli authorities, according to the French government’s source told AFP at that time.

Israeli President Isaac Herzog said that he was shocked by the “obscene” wings of the wings in Paris and called for the situation to be corrected immediately.