MILITARY contracts awarded by the government have come under scrutiny after it emerged that the Defence Forces has spent almost €14m in the last five years on equipment made by Israeli armaments manufacturers.

The Department of Defence has also been urged to review its contract on ethical grounds with one Israeli company, which supplied the surveillance equipment for monitoring the controversial security barrier that separates Israel from the West Bank.

The department has revealed that it spent €13.9m on "defensive equipment" manufactured by Israeli companies, as a result of tender competitions it has held since 2005.

Israeli company Elbit Systems Ltd, which was awarded a tender by the Irish government, also benefits from lucrative contracts with the Israeli Defence Forces worth hundreds of millions of euro.

Last year, the company won a contract worth €2.37m for the provision of a surveillance and target acquisition suite for four light tactical armoured vehicles that are being supplied to the Irish army this year by BAE Systems in South Africa.

The Department of Defence said the equipment was required to "enhance the capability of the Defence Forces to carry out overseas peace support operations".

Last September, Norway's finance minister announced the country had dropped its pension fund investment in Elbit Systems due to ethical concerns about the company's involvement in work on the separation wall between Israel and the West Bank.

The International Court of Justice said in 2004 the wall was illegal and should be dismantled because it crossed occupied territory.

Labour party foreign affairs spokesman Michael D Higgins said Ireland should follow the example of Norway and called on the government to review its military contracts on ethical grounds.

"Ireland should see Norway as a country to whose standards it should aspire, and should seek inspiration and motivation from both it and other progressive nations in its approach to an ethically sound and equitable foreign policy," he said.

"In this light and specifically in this case of monies being invested in developments, such as the separation wall in the West Bank, which are illegal under international law, the Irish government has serious questions to answer on the ethical basis of its own investments internationally."

Elbit systems also manufactures Unmanned Ariel Vehicles (UAV), more commonly known as drones, which have been used extensively by the Israeli Defence Forces in combat operations. Drone aircraft helped the Israeli air force target missile strikes that killed more than 1,000 people and destroyed thousands of homes and buildings during its assault on the Gaza strip in late 2008 and early 2009. The UN Goldstone report found the Israeli army committed war crimes by killing innocent civilians during the conflict.

Since 2005, the department has also purchased small arms ammunition, X-ray equipment for Explosive Ordnance Disposal duties (EOD), helmets for personal protection, an Artillery Fire Control System and Unmanned Aerial Vehicles from Israeli companies.

A department spokesman said the tender competitions were open to companies in accordance with the terms of the UN, the Organisation for Security and Co-operation in Europe and EU arms embargoes or restrictions.

"In the absence of a general trade embargo of Israel, the Department of Defence cannot unilaterally preclude Israeli companies from participating in tender competitions," he said.