As Israel addresses legal problems, Germany has halted fresh arms sales to Israel, according to a report by Reuters. A top government source was quoted by a second source associated with the German Ministry of Economy as claiming that the administration has halted work on securing transfer licenses for the sale of armaments to Israel. The new regulation was the result of both political and judicial pressure stemming from judicial proceedings claiming that these sales from Germany violated humanitarian regulations.
Inquiries for feedback from the ministry have not received a response. Nevertheless, following the publication of the Reuters report, the German administration did release a statement. According to a government official, no boycott of German arms exports has been placed against Israel.
Germany authorized arms sales to Israel totaling 326.5 million euros in 2023. The purchase includes combat weapons and military hardware, a ten-fold increase over 2022.
But this year, the number of permits has decreased; During the first eight months of 2024, just 14.5 million euros were approved. The drop is confirmed by the statistics that the Economy Ministry submitted in addressing the parliamentary query. Just 32,449 euros were allocated to the class of weapons of war out of the total number.
The administration has stated in its defense of two cases that since the Hamas strikes on Israel that was followed by Israeli incessant strikes for over 11 years, no licenses for the shipment of weapons of mass destruction were granted. Berlin is a party to two claims initiated by the European Center for Constitutional and Human Rights: one is in Berlin, while the other is before the International Court of Justice.
Since October 7, almost 41,000 Palestinian people have died as a result of Israeli attack against Gaza, the local Health officials announced. In addition, it has resulted in a starvation crisis, forced the majority of the 2.3 million people out of their homes, and prompted accusations of genocide in the international communities. Even though Nicaragua attempted to challenge German arms transfers to Israel at the the International Court of Justice, no case has been successful thus far.
However, the matter has caused discord in the cabinet as the Chancellery continues to back Israel while the Greens-led foreign and economic ministries, mindful of party supporters’ disapproval, have been more dismissive of Israel Prime Minister and his administration.
Other partners of Israel across the world have likewise stopped or suspended arms transfers as a result of legal concerns throughout west. This month, the UK froze 30 of 350 licenses for the transfer of weapons to Israel because of allegations that the country would be breaking international humanitarian standards.
Due to worries that the components will be used in strikes on civilian populations in Gaza, a Dutch court directed the Netherlands to stop exporting any F-35 fighter jet components to Israel a few months ago. This year, the US expressed concerns over the deployment of some explosives in highly populated regions in Gaza, leading the government to halt their supplies to that country. Further weapons in more accurate systems were approved and shipped, according to US authorities, who insisted that Israel ought to be able to protect its integrity and security.
