Israel sold weapons and equipment to Argentina at the height of the 1982 Falklands War, British media reported Wednesday following the release of newly declassified U.K. Foreign Office files by the British National Archives. The 10-week conflict between the U.K. and Argentina began on April 2, 1982 and focused on control of two British overseas territories in the South Atlantic, the Falkland Islands and South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands. It ended with an Argentine surrender on June 14, 1982, restoring the islands to British control. In total, 649 Argentine military personnel, 255 British military personnel, and three Falkland Islanders died during the hostilities. According to The Telegraph, the secret files, dated Nov. 16, 1984, allege that Israeli military exports to Argentina prior to the war included Skyhawk jets, later used by Gen. Leopoldo Galtieri's military junta to bomb British warships, and that Israel continued its military exports to Argentina after the conflict ended. The documents note that then-Foreign Secretary Sir Geoffrey Howe had personally asked the Israeli government to suspend arms sales to Argentina, especially the sale of spy planes reportedly designed to gather electronic and signals intelligence, but his request was ignored. According to the British media, while Israel had previously denied British allegations, it "later justified its exports saying the arms deals with Argentina were essential to sustain its domestic arms industry. The country had also argued that the U.K., too, was supplying weapons to Israel's enemies in the Arab world." The declassified documents echo a 2011 book by Argentine journalist Hernan Dobry, titled "Operation Israel." The book claims Israel armed Galtieri's junta, sending weapons shipments to Buenos Aires via secret cargo flights routed through Peru. The documents also include a memorandum from the head of the Near East and North Africa Department at the Foreign Office, saying, "Israel was one of the few countries to supply Argentina with arms during the Falklands conflict and has continued to do so."
Secret files allege Israel armed Argentina during Falklands War
Newly declassified U.K. Foreign Office files claim Israel sold weapons and equipment to the Argentine military junta in the 1980s • Documents claim weapons, especially Skyhawk jets, were later used against British troops in the 1982 conflict.
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