Belgium seizes two British cargoes of military components bound for Israel
Belgian authorities have seized two British shipments of military components bound for Israel, invoking a ban on any military-laden aircraft using the country’s facilities or airspace.
Last month, a coalition of news outlets and human rights groups alerted Brussels authorities to a military shipment traveling from Britain to Israel via Liege airport.
Dispatched from Britain on March 23, the shipments were intercepted at the airport just twenty-four hours later.
Upon inspection, a specialized engineer identified "fire control systems and spare parts for military aircraft,” which had not been properly declared.
Belgian authorities reportedly opened a criminal investigation into the affair but have declined to name the companies involved in the complaint.
However, the Walloon regional government in southern Belgium named one of the companies Moog, an American aerospace firm with factories in Britain.
The firm manufactures actuators for the M-346 aircraft used to train Israeli pilots.
According to a Belgian government spokesperson, no transit license request was issued for the cargo. “If it had been, it would have been refused.”
Sources involved with the tracking process stated that the components were exported from the UK under an Open Individual Export License and were classified as aircraft-related components rather than military hardware.
They added that at least 17 consignments from Moog have been moved from the UK to Liege Airport, bound for Israel.
In September 2024, the UK government suspended 30 of its 350 arms export licenses to Israel, following intense pressure from humanitarian groups who argued that such exports would make Britain complicit in the Israeli regime’s genocide in the Gaza Strip.
The UK, however, has issued over 100 export licenses for military equipment to Israel between October 2023 and May 2024 alone, covering components for fighter jets, tanks, and ammunition.
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Belgium seizes two British cargoes of military components bound for Israel
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