Israel has rejected in strongest terms data recorded and published by the Ministry of Defence which documents the sale of Israeli-manufactured cockpit displays and electronic warfare components for F16 fighter jets to Pakistan in 2010.
The deal, buried within a public governmental document logging the sale of weaponry containing British parts, was uncovered by an Israeli newspaper earlier this week along with a string of controversial Israeli weapon sales to Muslim states including Egypt and Algeria between 2009 and 2011. The deals were logged in the UK as British nuts were used in the construction of the Israeli F16 parts.
Israel has emphatically denied allowing the sale of any Israeli-made weapons technology to Pakistan, the arch foe of its long-term ally India. Israeli and British sources have both stated that such a deal would be detrimental to the Israeli-Indian relationship.
"We are startled. This [deal] just didn't happen. We have asked the British for information and will be very interested to see whom it was that sold weapons to Pakistan ostensibly posing as an Israeli," a senior Israeli official told the Daily Telegraph.
"A processing error is the best possible outcome. The arms trade is a very murky business. It is also possible that someone who is not an Israeli attempted to hide a deal."
The Israeli ministry of defence responded promptly to initial reports of the alleged sale earlier this week in a statement.
"Israel has a strategic relationship with India, the strongest democracy in the world – which, like Israel, deals with terrorist threats and serves as a major anchor in global international relations. The State of Israel does nothing that could compromise its excellent relations with India," the statement read.
The Pakistani military has fallen in line behind Israel, describing the reports as "baseless".
Israel is a global leader in the production of drones and software for military systems and currently the third largest exporter of arms to India. Britain's conclusion that the Israeli technology was delivered to Pakistan, with or without the knowledge of the Israeli government, will heap unprecedented pressure on the partnership, which the Israeli government describes as that of "soul mates".
British officials have suggested they will be willing to work closely with both the Israeli and Indian governments to investigate the issue further.
Yiftah Shapir, an Israeli security expert, points out that while Israel has taken pains to deny arming Pakistan, it has remained silent on the alleged deals with Egypt Algeria, the United Arab Emirates and Morocco. Israel perceives no tangible threats from any of these states.
"These reports do not surprise me," Mr Shapir said. "No one talks about it but there is now much more direct sale activity [of arms] between Israel and the Gulf States, as we now see ourselves as being on the same side versus Iran."
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