A subsidiary of Israel’s biggest arms manufacturer used a Slovenian port to transport "military" cargo to Israel – a week after the Slovenian government banned these shipments.
A Romanian Elbit Systems subsidiary used the Port of Koper in Slovenia to bring the cargo to an Elbit base in Karmiel.
A-E Electronics did so just after Slovenian prime minister Robert Golob’s government announced it had outlawed the “exporting and transit of military weapons and equipment from or through the Republic of Slovenia to Israel”.
Separately a Serbian arms company run from an apartment in Belgrade also used the same vessel to send almost 20 tonnes of cargo marked as “fibre containers” to Haifa in Israel.
All 'military weapons and equipment' banned
Slovenian prime minister Robert Golob announced on 31 July this year that his government had banned the export and import of “military weapons and equipment” to and from Israel.
An investigation by The Ditch and British-based NGO Shadow World Investigations show this ban has already been violated.
The Zim New Zealand vessel left Slovenia's Port of Koper last Thursday, 7 August and will arrive in the Israeli Port of Haifa on Friday.
A-E Electronics, an Elbit Systems subsidiary in Romania that produces electronic sub-assemblies for military use, sent one of the shipments onboard.
The two-tonne shipment, described as “electrical machines”, is flagged as “military” goods, according to shipping records. It is to be delivered to the Elbit Systems plant in Karmiel, Israel.
One of Serbia’s largest exporters of weapons to Israel sent a second 19.5 tonne shipment described as “fibre containers” on the same ship.
LSE Land Systems Engineering was founded in 2017 and has its headquarters in an apartment in Belgrade.
It was reported last month that the Serbian company had exported €7.1 million worth of military equipment to Israel since October 2023.
The goods will be delivered to the Elbit Systems Land factory in Yokneam.
“Elbit Systems Land segment provides products and systems for ground forces including military vehicle systems, artillery and mortar systems, rocket artillery systems, active protection systems for vehicles, and a range of air and ground launched precision guided munitions and ammunition,” according to Elbit Systems.
Elbit Systems is the primary supplier of weapons to the Israel Defense Forces, according to a recent report by the BDS movement.
The Slovenian government declined to comment.
