U.K. bars Israeli officials from defense trade show in London, citing escalation of Gaza war

London — The U.K. government has barred Israeli officials from attending a major weapons trade conference in London amid widespread criticism over the escalation of the war in Gaza. Britain’s Ministry of Defense confirmed to CBS News that representatives of Israel’s Defense Ministry had not been invited to the Defense Security and Equipment International (DSEI) conference, which is held in London every other year.

“The Israeli Government’s decision to further escalate its military operation in Gaza is wrong. As a result, we can confirm that no Israeli government delegation will be invited to attend DSEI UK 2025,” a U.K. government spokesperson said in a statement.

Members of the Israeli defense industry, however, including U.K. subsidiaries of Israeli defense companies, are still being allowed to attend the conference that begins on Saturday.

In response to the decision, a spokesperson for the Israeli Ministry of Defense said in a statement: “At a time when Israel is engaged on multiple fronts against Islamist extremists and terrorist organizations — forces that also threaten the West and international shipping lanes — this decision by Britain plays into the hands of extremists, grants legitimacy to terrorism, and introduces political considerations wholly inappropriate for a professional defense industry exhibition.”

The DSEI is a trade show that draws representatives from various governments and private defense companies that produce weapons and other military equipment.

British Prime Minister Keir Starmer has applied increasing pressure on the government of his Israeli counterpart, Benjamin Netanyahu, over the management of the ongoing war in Gaza.

In a speech on July 29, Starmer announced that the U.K. would move to recognize a Palestinian state unless Israel ended what he called the “appalling situation” in the Palestinian territory.

On Aug. 8, Starmer again criticized Netanyahu’s handling of the conflict by saying the decision to expand the war into Gaza City – which happened Friday with the beginning of a new Israeli offensive to take the decimated metropolis – would “do nothing to bring an end to this conflict” and “only bring more bloodshed.”

The decision to bar Israeli officials from the trade show came just a couple months after authorities in France sealed off the booths of five Israeli defense firms at the Paris Air Show in June. The booths had displayed “offensive weapons” that could be used in Gaza — in violation of agreements with Israeli authorities, a French government source told AFP at the time.

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