Egypt denies importing Israeli arms

The Egyptian army denied on Tuesday recent press reports claiming they imported modern arms and military equipment from Israel between 2008 and 2012. The statement, posted on the official Facebook page of the Egyptian armed forces’ refuted all claims published by Israeli newspaper Hareetz on Tuesday regarding arms deals between Israel and Egypt. Dismissing the report as groundless, the Egyptian Armed Forces Col. Staff Ahmad Mohammad said the Armed Forces set strict rules and controls for the armament programme to ensure the safety of products. "All branches of the Armed Forces are bound by these controls while contracting with arms and military equipment suppliers," he asserted. In Tuesday’s edition, Haaretz cited a report by the UK Department for Business, Innovation and Skills, who allegedly claiming that Israel exports security and combat equipment to Egypt. The report, carried by other regional media outlets, mentioned Egypt, along with the United Arab Emirates, Morocco and Pakistan, as importers of sophisticated Israeli-made equipment including drones, night vision appliances, and navigation and radar systems between 2008 and 2012. Pakistan has also denied that its military purchased equipment from Israel.