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| By Ellis Shuman June 18, 2002 |
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Britain's Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) refused to grant an export license for sporting ammunition needed by Israel's national shooting team, disrupting the squad's preparations for next month's world shooting championships in Finland.
The Department refused the export of 350,000 rounds of the .22 caliber ammunition made by Eley of Birmingham, whose cartridges are used by most medal winners, the Daily Telegraph reported.
"There is a clear risk that the
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"The ammunition might be used for internal repression"
- British Department of Trade and Industry
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ammunition might be used for internal repression, external aggression, prolonging the conflict and the risk that the goods might be diverted to an undesirable end user," the DTI said, in a letter sent to Eley.
"This is absurd. I am sure somebody made a mistake," said Yair Davidovich, general secretary of the Israel Shooting Federation.
"This is not army stuff," he added. "The army has enough ammunition without our sports ammunition, which is expensive. Even for a sniper rifle, the army uses larger caliber ammunition. This sports ammunition is only effective to a range of about 100 meters."
A spokesman for Eley confirmed that its ammunition was not suitable for military use, the Daily Telegraph reported.
"We paid for these cartridges, and they were intended for the world championships," Davidovich explained. "We paid for the shipment, and a month ago we received a letter from the DTI saying that it refused to approve the export of ammunition."
He added, "I have been going to the Eley factory since 1983 and this is the first time there has been a problem."
Israel's shooting team turned to the Israeli Foreign Ministry for assistance. Nati Tamir, charge d'affaires at the Israel mission to the European Union, lodged a protest at the British Embassy in Israel, and the Israeli Embassy in London became involved in the export issue. "I told the British that they can't use excuses that are irrelevant," Tamir said. "We are talking here about sport, and we provided documents that prove that the cartridges will be used (for sport)."
A written appeal against the DTI decision has also been lodged by Eley, Israeli sources said.
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