DSEI is one of the world’s largest arms fairs, which comes to East London’s Docklands every two years. For a week, the whole of the ExCeL Centre hosts arms companies from around the world to market their products, from missiles to fighter jets, tanks to sniper rifles. But the event is not only for private companies; it is also attended by governments and militaries from around the world, who are there to help promote their ‘national’ companies, and to shop around for the latest technology.
The UK government is also directly involved; the UK Defence and Security Organisation (DIT DSO), which is the Department of International Trade’s weapons-export promotion arm, extends official invitations to key commercial and military allies from other governments, including a large number from states who the UK Foreign Office considers to be “human rights priority countries”, the new euphemism for what used to be called “countries of concern”. This list includes Saudi Arabia, Egypt, Bahrain and Colombia. This year, for the first time, the DIT DSO has officially invited a state delegation from Israel to attend.
It’s hard to say what prompted this new invitation. In past years, Israel had its own “national pavilion” at DSEI, at which arms companies boasted of their weapons being “battle-tested” and “combat-proven” – i.e. they have been used in live combat situations, to devastate and destroy Palestinian lives and communities. It’s no secret that the Israeli arms industry benefits from the violence: Israeli forces order arms from Israeli companies, and feedback so the technology can be “fine-tuned”. Arms company officials have been open about the fact that their customers “appreciate that the products are battle-tested.” In this way, Israel’s international impunity for attacks on civilians translates into profit-making for arms dealers.
