JERUSALEM (Reuters) – Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office said on Sunday that French President Emmanuel Macron had given him assurances that Israeli companies would be able to take part in the Paris Air Show.
The two had a phone conversation during which the assurance was given, according to a statement by the prime minister’s office.
Separately, Macron’s office said in a statement that the presence of Israeli companies at the air show “could be favourably considered, as a result of the ceasefire in Gaza and Lebanon.”
Israeli defence companies were last year banned from participating in a defence industry exhibition held in Paris as Macron called for Israel to cease some military operations in Gaza.
That ban strained relations, but a French court in October overturned a government ban on Israeli companies taking part in a naval arms exhibition near Paris.
The Paris Air Show, the world’s largest, is held every two years, alternating every other year with Farnborough in Britain. It is due to take place from June 16 until June 22. Leading aerospace, aviation and defence companies from around the world typically take part in both events.
A ceasefire agreement reached this month between Israel and Palestinian militant group Hamas, which it has been fighting in Gaza, remains in effect, as does another truce agreement struck last year between Israel and Lebanese militant group Hezbollah.
(Reporting by Alexander Cornwell, additional reporting by Leigh Thomas in Paris; Editing by Tomasz Janowski and Hugh Lawson)
