BELGIUM TO REFUSE EXPORT LICENSES FOR ARMS TO

C O N F I D E N T I A L BRUSSELS 000209

SIPDIS

STATE FOR EUR/WE, EUR/RPM AND NEA/IPA

E.O. 12958: DECL: 02/12/2019
TAGS: PARM PREL BE IS
SUBJECT: BELGIUM TO REFUSE EXPORT LICENSES FOR ARMS TO
PALESTINIANS AND ISRAELIS

Classified By: Acting Deputy Chief of Mission Richard Eason, reason 1.4
(b) and (d).


1. (U) On February 2 the Belgian Federal government held a
consultation with the Flemish, Walloon and Brussels regional
authorities responsible for issuance of export licenses for
arms to coordinate Belgium's policy on arms exports to
"Israel and the occupied territories." Arms export licenses
are a competency of the regions under Belgian law, although
the regions consult with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs as a
practical matter. On February 11, Poloff discussed the
results of the meeting with Werner Bauwens, Director of the
Non-Proliferation and Export Controls Office of the Ministry
of Foreign Affairs. Bauwens was not willing to talk freely
about the new policy, but referred Poloff to a statement
issued by the MFA on February 9.


2. (U) That statement says:

Begin text:

"At the initiative of Foreign Minister Karel De Gucht, a
consultation on the policy of arms exports to Israel and the
occupied territories was organized with Belgium's three
regions. Such consultations are provided for in the
cooperation agreement on arms exports. (Note: this is an
agreement between the federal government and the regions.)

"During that consultation, the following was agreed with the
respective regional governments:
-- 'not to issue any arms export licence that would shore up
the military capabilities of the forces present there.'
-- Furthermore, in view of the recent, delicate cease-fire on
the ground, the parties to the consultations stressed the
'need for the greatest vigilance when awarding licenses
destined for Israel and the occupied territories'.
-- Finally, it was agreed that 'Belgium, including its
federate entities, wishes to act in line with a common
European position in which its European partners' policy on
awarding or refusing licences looms large. To this end,
Belgium will be holding talks with its partners in the
Council Working Group on Conventional Arms (COARM)'. (Note:
reference is to the European Council.)

"It is true that the meaning of the term 'arms export' is
very broadly defined in Belgium. For instance exports may be
temporary or involve cooperation in space programmes that
appear as 'arms exports' in the official statistics but do
not fall under the associated regulations.

"Minister De Gucht believes that the agreement reached with
the Regions is extremely important: "It sends out a strong
signal to all the parties involved in the conflict in the
Middle East, he said."

End text.


3. (C) Post assesses that the MFA's mention of temporary
exports and space programs is intended to downplay the actual
effect of the new policy. Reports in the Israeli press have
said that Belgium exports five million dollars in small arms
to Israel annually. The MFA seems to be saying that the
published export figures include many items that are not
destined for the Israeli army, such as those which are
re-exported or used in space programs. By its own terms, the
policy is in effect now and is not time-limited, but
logically it should apply so long as the conflict is in a
critical stage, or threatens to return to a critical stage.
We expect that any Belgian arms exports to Israel could
easily be replaced by other foreign sources of arms or
domestic manufactures.


4. (U) Israeli newspaper headlines suggest that the Belgian
policy is motivated by Israel's use of "child soldiers", who
are actually 17 year old IDF conscripts. This idea in fact
originated in a report purportedly published by a think tank
identified as the "European Institute for Research on Peace
and Security", not the Belgian government. The GOB action is
based exclusively on Foreign Minister De Gucht's
often-expressed dismay at Israeli actions in Gaza.

BUSH
.