Israeli satellite imaging company ImageSat International N.V, a subsidiary of Elbit, is being sued by several of its stockholders after the company refused to provide images to the government of Venezuela.
According to media reports, the sale was blocked by Israel’s Ministry of Defense due to Venezuela’s close alliance with Iran. ImageSat is owned in part by the Israeli government.
The disgruntled stockholders, who include several minority investors from Israel, the U.S. and Canada, claim the company “breached its fiduciary and/or contractual obligations to the detriment of the plaintiffs” by rejecting deals that would have profited the company and the stockholders themselves.
ImageSat sells satellite imagery for various purposes – including espionage -- to countries around the world that do not have their own satellites. Most of the company's work is non-military in nature, sources said.
According to Israeli law, ImageSat is forbidden to sell images to countries within 1,500 miles of Israel. Sales to Cuba, Iran and North Korea are also off-limits. Venezuela does not fall under that restriction, nor is Venezuela included on a specific list of enemy countries, despite its cozy relationship with a number of Israel’s worst enemies.
The investors claim in their $6 billion lawsuit that politics destroyed a number of lucrative deals, including the one with Venezuela. An initial hearing is set for October.
Cozy Welcome for Iran's President
Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad found a particularly warm welcome in Venezuela on the first leg of a Latin American tour in January. Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez literally greeted Ahmadinejad with open arms.
The two leaders, who share virulent anti-American and anti-Israel sentiments, reiterated a previously negotiated agreement to create a $2 billion fund to support projects in countries that might be receptive to their political views. The fund, which Chavez called “a mechanism for liberation,” was also to be used to finance investments in their own countries.
Venezuela has made strong efforts to build ties with other enemies of Israel as well, including the Hamas terrorist organization, the Palestinian Authority and Syria.
Last October, Chavez accused Israel of carrying out “genocide” against Hizbullah terrorists during the Second Lebanon War.
The South American nation was also one of the first countries to have accepted the Hamas terrorist organization as a legitimate governing body.
Venezuelan Foreign Minister Nicolas Maduro announced at a meeting in Tehran with Damascus-based Hamas politburo head Khaled Mashaal last March that the PA would be allowed to open an embassy in his nation’s capital, Caracas.