An Israeli-operated cargo plane flew through Irish sovereign airspace this year loaded with explosives for the Israel Defense Forces (IDF), according to documents obtained by The Ditch.
Taoiseach Simon Harris said earlier this summer, “No sovereign airspace is being used to transport weapons to the conflict in the Middle East.”
Irish legislation requires air carriers to get an exemption from the Department of Transport to carry munitions over state airspace. The Ditch has asked the department if it granted such an exemption for this plane, which left the US on its way to Israel, carrying IDF weaponry.
These latest revelations come after The Ditch reported yesterday that Irish sovereign airspace is being used to collect IDF weaponry from a US air base.
Departments of: Taoiseach, Foreign Affairs, Transport = contacted for comment
On February 27, 2024 a Challenge Airlines Israel Boeing 747 with the registration number OO-ACE left JFK Airport for Tel Aviv. It had a scheduled stopover at Liege Airport in Belgium.
The flight’s cargo included 143 “detonating fuzes” weighing 35.3 kilogrammes for delivery to the “Government of Israel”, according to a US-issued air waybill.
This is the document that accompanies internationally transported goods and was first obtained from Belgian authorities by Antwerp-based NGO Vredesactie.
The detonating fuzes, which in this case were classed as dangerous explosive-containing goods under UN rules, are commonly used to detonate aerial bombs or artillery munitions including those used by the IDF in Gaza.
The 27 February, 2024 cargo flight entered Irish airspace over Silver Strand beach in county Mayo before exiting above Brittas Bay in county Wicklow. The flight made a pit stop at Liege Airport in Belgium before arriving at its final destination in Tel Aviv along with its cargo of explosives for the IDF.
In May 2024 a collaborative group of Belgian media organisations and NGOs revealed that multiple Challenge Airlines Israel-operated cargo flights from New York, including the one that passed over Ireland, were exploiting a loophole in the Benelux country’s legislation.
The Belgian government moved quickly to close the gap in its legislation that had allowed the arms-laden flights from New York to Tel Aviv to make a stop in Liege without technically breaching a law banning the transit of IDF-bound weapons through Belgium.
The joint media and NGO investigation also uncovered December 2023 email correspondence from Challenge Airlines that showed it had discussed a workaround to avoid breaching the legislation so it could transport weapons from the US to Israel.
Both taoiseach Simon Harris and tánaiste Micheál Martin said in the Dáil in June this year that Irish sovereign airspace was not being used to transport weapons to Israel.
The Department of the Taoiseach, Department of Foreign Affairs and Department of Transport have been contacted for comment.
