The court approved the sale of the joystick from the plane that bombed a reactor in Iraq

by time news

The saga is coming to an end: About two months ago it was revealed that a former Air Force man put up for auction a steering rod from an F-16 which was one of eight planes involved in Operation Opera to destroy the Iraqi nuclear reactor in 1981. But a district court ruling this week denied the request and approved the sale.

The state that opposed the sale claimed its proprietary right in the item, even though it was removed from the plane back in 2013, disqualified for use and scrapped. The plane itself was also taken out of service and recently sold to a foreign entity. The state also claimed that it is a cultural asset that is closely linked to a significant event in the country’s history and has cultural, research and historical value to prevent its sale to private hands.

In contrast, the Pentagon auction house claimed that this was a gross interference in trade, market conditions and the free economy, and that it was customary in the Air Force to give souvenirs to its retiring senior officers, as a retirement gift from their service period, including items of such use and service. In his reply, the auction house provided evidence of three other similar cases in which retirement gifts of the said type (including to the squadron commander himself) were given without any objection from the state authorities.

After examining the parties’ claims, Judge Yaakov Shepser, the vice president of the Central District Court, rejected the state’s request, especially after claiming that the item was supposed to be destroyed, and in any case could no longer be a property of cultural value: “For its part, it has in fact waived the item and its rights claimed in it.”

The judge who dismissed revoked the temporary orders issued, ordered the state to pay court costs in the amount of NIS 15,000 and gave a month to file a statement of claim. If no further claim is filed – the case will be closed.

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