No SA weapons are going to Israel, says Armscor

Armscor has not supplied weapons to Israel or been part of joint projects with the Mediterranean country currently at war with Hamas in Gaza, the state-owned defence and security acquisition company says.

It was responding to allegations, including from the SA Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions coalition and a public representative, that it was supplying weapons to the Israeli Defence Forces.

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Armscor senior manager: corporate communication Liziwe Nkonyana emphasised in a statement the company has “no contact” with Israel.

“The buying and selling of, or possession of controlled items (armaments and/or items or services with military application) is subject to the very strict control regime implemented by the National Conventional Arms Control Committee (NCACC),” the statement reads.

“The NCACC is established to ensure compliance with government policy in respect of arms control. The NCACC implements control measures in relation to transactions where such controlled items are exported.

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“No person may buy, sell or be in possession of controlled items, unless that person is registered with the NCACC and in possession of a permit authorised and issued by the NCACC.

“Any defence industry company or arms manufacturer who is trading with arms or controlled items must apply to the NCACC to authorise the issue of a permit subject to such conditions as the NCACC may decide upon.

“The NCACC considers and evaluates all applications and in doing so, also considers the destination country and end-user where the arms will be used.

“The issue of an arms embargo is a matter of government policy.

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“It is confirmed that Armscor complies with all the provisions of the National Conventional Arms Control Committee Act and executes its mandate in accordance with the national security interest of the Republic [of South Africa] and applicable government policy in this regard.”