The Palestine Action Committee has criticized the participation of international defense firms in the SAHA 2026 International Defense, Aerospace and Space Industry Fair, which opened on May 5 at the İstanbul Expo Center and continues until May 9.
In a statement, the committee described those companies as “strategic accomplices in the occupation and genocide in Palestine” due to the military equipment and technology they provide to the Israeli military.
These firms “found the opportunity to market weapons and technologies used on the Palestinian people,” according to the statement.
The companies role in Israel’s wars
Companies with military and technological ties to Israel at the fair include L3Harris, BAE Systems, Leonardo, Airbus, Siemens, and Thales UK.
L3Harris is a major electronics supplier for F-35 fighter jets used by the Israeli air force, while BAE Systems provides components, ammunition, missile launch kits, and armored vehicles. Leonardo supplies radar systems, naval guns, and laser targeting systems.
Protesters clash with police at İstanbul port over alleged shipment to Israel
2 November 2024
Airbus is a partner in producing unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) used for intelligence gathering and assassination attacks in occupied areas, particularly Gaza. Siemens provides industrial and engineering software to the Israeli military and defense industry, and Thales UK supplies UAV components.
Such military capabilities have been used by Israel in Gaza, Lebanon, Yemen, Iraq and Iran, the committee noted.
“These companies, honored with high-level hospitality in İstanbul, are clearly imperialist capital groups causing destruction in our geography,” it said.
Turkish capital marches for Palestine but trades with Israel
7 January 2026
Call to government
The statement called on the SAHA İstanbul Defense, Aerospace and Space Cluster Association to “remove companies partnering in genocide from the fair program.” The committee also issued a call to the government.
“The Turkish government must immediately declare a military embargo on Israel to stop the shipment of weapons and ammunition, as suggested in the letter it led and submitted to the United Nations Security Council in Nov 2024 with the signatures of 52 countries,” the committee stated.
“The participation of genocide-partner firms in the fair will also be recorded as a new step that contradicts the Bogota Declaration, which Turkey signed in Jul 2025 and which envisages measures to prevent weapon supplies to Israel.”
Court arrests nine pro-Palestinian activists who protested Erdoğan over trade with Israel
2 December 2024
About the Palestinian Action Committee
The Palestine Action Committee was formed following a call by BDS Turkey on May 15, 2024, involving dozens of political institutions, unions, and professional organizations. Originally named the Nakba Action Committee, the group rebranded to its current name to establish a principled line of solidarity with Palestine.
The committee held its first protest in front of the US Consulate General in İstanbul on Jul 7, 2024. It views severing all ties with Israel as the basis of solidarity and organizes actions targeting Turkey’s ongoing relations with the country.
(VC/VK)
Source: BIANET
