Denmark refuses to rule out procurement of air defense system from Israel

PRAGUE, Czech Republic

Denmark on Thursday refused to rule out potential procurement of new air defense system from Israel under a new defense deal.

"We have not said that we cannot acquire it from Israel. There is nothing about that in the agreement," Defense Minister Troels Lund Poulsen told Ritzau news agency.

The minister said that the new sub agreement under defense deal does not forbid Denmark from buying a new air defense system from Israel.

However, his views were not shared by other Danish political parties, as the leader of the Socialist Left party, Pia Olsen Dyhr, expressed her reservations by saying that the wording of the agreement makes it "quite difficult" to buy an Israeli system, as it stipulates that "Nato interoperability must be taken into account."

Christian Friis Bach, defense spokesman for the Radical Liberals, speaking on the issue, told a Danish publication - Jyllands-Posten - that the wording of the agreement would make it "practically impossible" to buy the Israeli system.

Separately, Foreign Minister Lars Lokke Rasmussen in a parliamentary committee meeting revealed that currently there are a total of 15 Danish companies supplying F-35 components to Israel.

The debate of potential procurement of the air defense system from Israel has come against the backdrop of a lawsuit by four Danish human rights organizations against Denmark for not complying with legal obligations by allowing arms exports to Israel.

The case against the Foreign Ministry and Danish National Police was filed by Amnesty International Denmark, Oxfam Denmark, Mellemfolkeligt Samvirke and the Palestinian human rights organization Al-Haq.

Denmark is a signatory to both the UN Arms Trade Treaty and the EU Common Rules for Arms Exports, which oblige the country to ensure that exports of weapons and military equipment from Danish companies do not risk contributing to violations of international law.