Belgium seizes arms shipment sent from Britain to Israel
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Imran Mulla
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Wed, 04/15/2026 - 12:57
Brussels has banned aircraft carrying military equipment for Israel from stopping in the country or using its airspace
Walloon Minister President Adrien Dolimont after delivering a speech on the State of Wallonia during a plenary session of the Walloon parliament, in Namur, on 16 April 2025 (AFP)
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Two shipments from Britain of military components bound for Israel have been seized in Belgium, which has banned aircaft carrying military equipment for Israel from stopping in the country or using its airspace.
Last month, the British news website Declassified, Belgian NGO Vredesactie, Irish news website The Ditch, and the Palestinian Youth Movement alerted authorities in Brussells of a shipment travelling from Britain to Israel through Liege airport.
The consignments left Britain on 23 March and were siezed at Liege airport in Belgium on 24 March.
They were searched by a specialised engineer who found "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 firms involved in the complaint.
But the Walloon regional government in southern Belgium named one of the companies as Moog, an American aerospace firm with factories in Britain.
According to Declassified, a "postcode associated with the company’s factory in Wolverhampton" sent items to Israel through Belgium last December.
Moog manufactures actuators for the M-346 aircraft used to train Israeli pilots.
Regular transfers from UK to Israel
Sources involved with the tracking process said they found that the components were exported from the UK under an Open Individual Export Licence, and that they were classified as aircraft and related components, rather than as military components.
They also found that at least 17 consignments from Moog have been moved from the UK to Liege Airport, bound for Israel.
The sources added that a freedom of information request revealed that the British Foreign Office does not hold any information on correspondence between the UK and Belgium concerning military components being sent to Israel via Belgium.
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In September 2024, the British government suspended 30 out of 350 arms export licences to Israel on the grounds that there was a "clear risk" they could be used to violate international humanitarian law in Gaza.
Britain's Department for Business and Trade said: "We have suspended all licences for equipment for Israel that might be used in military operations in Gaza, with the exception of the special measures relating to the global F-35 programme.
"Exports of controlled equipment are subject to strict licensing requirements. It would be a criminal offence for an exporter not to have the required licences in place before exporting such items."
Declassified quoted a Walloon government spokesperson saying: "In our view, the goods do indeed require a transit licence... We have already contacted our lawyers.
"We wish to… take all necessary steps to ensure that the law is upheld".
Another Belgian government spokesperson told Declassified: "No transit licence request was issued; if it had been, it would have been refused."
MEE has contacted Moog for comment.
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