“Israel” Providing Goods, Protecting Oil Fields in Gulf

The "Israeli" newspaper Haaretz uncovered in a report on Thursday a secret network of trade between "Israel" and the Arab and Muslim world through intermediaries and distributors worldwide.

The paper said that "Israeli" business quietly thrives in Saudi Arabia and in far-off countries like Indonesia and Malaysia, too.

"Company owners on both sides do all they can to avoid harmful publicity. Contacts are made at international conferences overseas, through European and US companies familiar with both sides, and directly over the Internet," read the article.

It also noted that "Technology, particularly the Internet, is making the world smaller," and that Arab entrepreneurs are interested in "Israeli" technologies and search them out through the Internet and social networks like Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn.

Interesting it is that the source says some people believe "Israeli" companies play dumb regarding the final destination of their products. According to a high-tech source, many international technology companies, including "Israel"-based companies, use local and regional distributors to market their products in broadly defined territories.

As for trade with Saudi Arabia in particular, Haaretz said that "Quite a number of "Israeli" companies export products to Saudi Arabia, including technological goods, which is sometimes done through their U.S.-registered subsidiaries, thanks to the strong relations between the U.S. and Saudi Arabia."

Also, another interesting field is trade in plastics, as "Israel" receives raw materials for its plastics industry - polyethylene and polypropylene deriving from petroleum production - from Saudi Arabia and other Gulf countries.

"These materials are sent in a roundabout way but "Israeli" authorities are aware of their source," the paper said, adding that "Israel's" plastics industry, in turn, exports greenhouse sheeting, irrigation drippers, house and garden products, disposable utensils and food packaging to Saudi Arabia."

Moreover, the wealthy Gulf countries -according to Haaretz- are without doubt, the most attractive places for "Israeli" business.

"As Dubai was building the Palm Islands - a megalomaniac real estate project delayed by the global economic crisis - "Israelis" had a hand in providing some of the shingles through an Italian roofing tile company," it stated.

Also, the "Israeli" daily underlined that "it is known that quite a few companies in the Gulf States rely on sophisticated "Israeli" technology for security purposes."

Not just technology but also an "Israeli"-owned security firm protecting oil fields in one of the Gulf countries also brings in "Israelis" to guard them.

"Israel" also exports medical, agricultural and water technologies to the Gulf States. 

Yet one crucial point is a key to these relations: this trade depends on the regional political situation. Naava Mashiah, "Israeli" who lives in Geneva and brokers deals in the Middle East says that in cases of political tension (such as the case was when Hamas leader Mahmoud al-Mabhouh was assassinated in Dubai) "you simply keep your head down and wait until it all blows over. He added "You need to be sensitive to the situation. You simply stop, not even sending emails, until the tide turns, though he assured that "Israelis" have already gone back to doing business in Dubai, Abu Dhabi and Qatar."

In dealings in Arab countries it's impossible to separate the political and business aspects, says Mashiah.

Source: Haaretz, edited by moqawama.org