According to Hamas, more than 41,000 Palestinians have been killed in the Israeli attack on Gaza since October 7. (Dossier)
Berlin:
Germany has suspended the export of new war weapons to Israel due to legal problems, according to an analysis of data by Reuters and a source close to the Economy Ministry.
Last year, Germany approved arms exports to Israel worth 326.5 million euros ($363.5 million), including military equipment and weapons of war. That is a tenfold increase from 2022, according to data from the Ministry of Economic Affairs, which approves export licenses.
This year, however, the number of approvals has fallen: from January to August 21, only 14.5 million euros worth of permits were issued, according to data from the Ministry of Economic Affairs in response to a parliamentary question.
Of this, only 32,449 euros was earmarked for the 'weapons of war' category.
A source close to the ministry quoted a senior government official as saying that the ministry had stopped approving export licenses for weapons to Israel pending a resolution of lawsuits alleging that such exports from Germany violated humanitarian law.
The ministry did not respond to requests for comment.
In its defense of two cases, one at the International Court of Justice and one in Berlin brought by the European Center for Constitutional and Human Rights (ECtHR), the government has argued that since the Hamas attacks on Israel on October 7, not a single weapon of war has been exported under any license, apart from spare parts for long-term contracts, the source added.
Israel’s assault on Gaza has killed more than 41,000 Palestinians since Oct. 7, according to the local Hamas-controlled Health Ministry. It has also displaced most of the population of 2.3 million, caused a hunger crisis and led to accusations of genocide at the World Court of Justice, which Israel denies.
So far, no legal action against German arms exports to Israel has been successful, including one brought by Nicaragua at the International Court of Justice.
DISAGREEMENTS OVER ARMS EXPORTS WITHIN THE GERMAN GOVERNMENT
However, the issue has caused friction within the government, as the Chancellery maintains its support for Israel, while the Greens-led economy and foreign ministries, which are sensitive to criticism from party members, have increasingly criticized the Netanyahu government.
Legal problems across Europe have also led other allies of Israel to suspend or halt their arms exports.
Britain this month revoked 30 of 350 arms export licences to Israel over concerns Israel was violating international humanitarian law.
In February, a Dutch court ordered the Netherlands to halt all exports of F-35 fighter jet parts to Israel over concerns about their use in attacks on civilian targets in Gaza.
President Joe Biden’s administration this year suspended, but then resumed, the delivery of some bombs to Israel after US concerns about their use in densely populated Gaza.
The approval and delivery of other types of weapons, in more precise systems, continued, as US officials maintained that Israel needed the capability to defend itself.
Alexander Schwarz, a lawyer at the ECCHR, which has filed five lawsuits against Berlin, said the significant drop in approvals for 2024 indicates a genuine, if possibly temporary, reluctance to supply weapons to Israel.
“I wouldn't consider this a conscious policy change, though,” Schwarz added.
(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by Our staff and is published via a syndicated feed.)
