El Al's wings clipped in Europe over arms
Pastor Dale Morgan
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El Al's wings clipped in Europe over arms*
JERUSALEM (Reuters) - Five European countries are refusing landing
rights to aircraft from the Israeli national carrier El Al that are
transporting military equipment to the Jewish state, Israel Radio
reported on Tuesday.
It quoted an airline official as saying the new restrictions imposed by
Britain, Germany, Spain, Italy and Portugal meant some incoming El Al
flights carrying arms would not be able to refuel enroute, and would
have to reduce their cargo load.
El Al was not immediately available for comment.
European scrutiny of Israeli weapons imports heightened during Israel's
recent war against the Lebanese guerrilla group Hizbollah.
London drew criticism at home over stop-overs in a British airport by
flights carrying military equipment to Israel from its U.S. ally.
British media reported that those shipments included heavy ordnance to
be used against Lebanese targets.
Some El Al planes and pilots were mobilised by the air force during the
war to fly in military supplies, Israel Radio said.