Israel’s Defense Ministry has moved to cut off arms procurement from France as part of a broader effort to wean the military off suppliers viewed as diplomatically unfriendly.

Defense Ministry Director General Maj. Gen. Amir Baram made the decision, with Defense Minister Yisrael Katz backing an accompanying initiative to expand domestic arms production and shift procurement toward Israeli industries and suppliers in countries considered allies, Channel 12 reported.

The move reflects a wider realignment that Israeli officials have been pushing since the diplomatic fallout from the war in Gaza, during which a number of countries imposed partial or full arms embargoes on Israel, citing humanitarian concerns and the civilian death toll. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said earlier this year that he was seeking what he called “maximal independence” from foreign military aid, “so we don’t run out of weapons or ammunition.”

France has been among the more assertive in restricting defense ties with Israel. Paris barred Israeli representatives from participating in defense exhibitions and conferences on French soil after the Gaza war began, and, following President Emmanuel Macron’s call for an arms embargo in October 2024, France halted the sale of certain weapons usable in IDF operations in Gaza.

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