France's Defense Minister Rejects Allegations of Supplying Arms to Israel Amid Gaza War

France's defense minister has denied claims made by investigative journalists that France provided components for ammunition used by the Israeli army in its war against Hamas in the Gaza Strip.

The investigative outlets' reporting provided evidence through photos of the links, which they claimed were taken on October 23, weeks after Hamas' deadly October 7 attack on Israel that started the fierce battle in Gaza.

France Denies Supplying Arms to Israel

Investigative websites Disclose and Marsactu reported that the Marseille-based company Eurolinks had sold Israel M27 links, which are metal components used to join rifle cartridges into ammunition belts for machine guns.

They claimed that such ammunition could have been used against civilians in the Gaza Strip.

AFP was unable to confirm the reported shipment.

However, Defense Minister Sebastien Lecornu told reporters in Paris that Eurolinks's permission to export to the Israeli company IMI Systems "only covers re-export to third countries" and is not used by the Israeli army.

Left-wingers have demanded that France cease all arms exports to Israel and follow Canada's lead.

In a recent parliamentary hearing, MP Mathilde Panot, a leader of the France Unbowed (LFI) opposition, called the exports a "massive scandal" and accused Lecornu of "lying."

Last month, the minister told the National Assembly lower house's defense committee that France's stance on arms sales to Israel was "irreproachable" with recent shipments of ball bearings, glass, cooling systems, and sensors.

"In general, these are arms planned to be re-exported from Israel to other customers," he added at the time.

Since October 7, Lecornu claimed that he had ordered civil servants to be "even stricter" when inspecting exports to Israel.

Furthermore, he acknowledged that France has granted permits for sections of Israel's "Iron Dome" missile defense system.

FRANCE-DEFENCE-ARMAMENTS-CONFERENCE — Press conference by Armed Forces Minister Sebastien Lecornu on "Industrial reinforcement: armaments and munitions" at the Ministry of the Armed Forces on the Balard site in Paris, France on March 26, 2024. Against the backdrop of the war economy and the efforts being made for the defense industries (military programming law), the presentation of the armaments strategy for France and in support of Ukraine at war with Russia. (Photo: AMAURY CORNU/Hans Lucas/AFP via Getty Images)

Canada to Halt Arms Exports to Israel

Canada has decided to stop arms exports to Israel after a non-binding vote in the House of Commons. On Tuesday, Foreign Affairs Minister Mélanie Joly declared that her government would stop future arms shipments.

The ruling follows a parliamentary motion introduced by the New Democratic Party (NDP) that called on the governing Liberals to cease future arms exports to Israel. The New Democrats, supporters of Prime Minister Justin Trudeau's minority government, have voiced their dissatisfaction with what they see as his failure to do enough to protect civilians in Gaza.

The motion passed 204-117 with the backing of the Liberals, Bloc Québécois, and Green party, which also called on Canada to work towards establishing the state of Palestine.

A last-minute agreement between the Liberals and the NDP, which had earlier demanded that the government "recognize the state of Palestine," led to the victorious vote late on Monday.

Furthermore, the vote does not appear to alter Canada's position that a negotiated deal between Israel and the Palestinians should lead to Palestinian statehood.

Canada previously stated that even though it had stopped granting Israel military export licenses, it was still reviewing applications "case-by-case."