Israel Halts All Arms and Defense Exports to Qatar

Israel has decided to impose a sweeping ban on all defense exports from its security industries to Qatar, according to a report Tuesday on N12, citing foreign reports. The decision includes canceling contracts signed four and five years ago that were still in the process of being carried out.

According to the reports, Israel’s defense industries sold Qatar weapons, defense systems, cyber systems, and air-defense equipment worth hundreds of millions of dollars. The defense exports had previously been approved by the Defense Ministry and Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.

The decision was made following a veto recently imposed by the Qatari government on European companies it owns, barring them from conducting business with Israel. As previously reported, last month Volkswagen, which is partly Qatari-owned, announced the cancellation of a deal with Rafael to manufacture components for the "Iron Dome" system at the company’s plant in Osnabrück, Germany.

Meanwhile, in the coming days, the government is expected to block the sale of the shipping company ZIM to the German corporation Hapag‑Lloyd, which is owned by Qatar’s sovereign wealth fund as well as Saudi Arabia.