Germany is to suspend exports of weaponry that could be used in the Gaza Strip because of Israel’s plan to expand its operations there – the first time united Germany has acknowledged denying military support to its long-time ally.
Chancellor Friedrich Merz’s sudden about-turn yesterday followed mounting pressure from the public and his junior coalition partner over the manmade humanitarian crisis in Gaza, where Israel has severely restricted supplies of food and water.
In a statement, Merz acknowledged Israel’s right to disarm Hamas and seek the release of Israeli hostages, but said the Israeli decision “makes it increasingly difficult to see how these goals can be achieved”.
Germany is Israel’s second biggest weapons supplier after the US, and has long been one of its staunchest supporters, principally because of historical guilt for the Nazi Holocaust – a policy known as the ‘Staatsraison’.
But an opinion poll in June indicated that 73 per cent of Germans want tighter controls on arms exports, including 30pc who favoured a total ban.
“This is the right decision. The humanitarian suffering in Gaza is unbearable,” said vice chancellor and finance minister Lars Klingbeil of the Social Democrats, who govern alongside Merz’s conservatives.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office and the Israeli foreign and defence ministries did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
“Politically and morally, this is certainly a hard blow for Netanyahu and his policies,” said Meron Mendel, the director of the Anne Frank Education Centre in Frankfurt.
According to the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute, Germany provided 30pc of Israel’s major arms imports in 2019-2023, primarily naval equipment including Sa’ar 6-class frigates (MEKO A-100 Light Frigates), which have been used in the Gaza war.
Germany’s parliament reported in June that export licences for 485 million euros ($564m) of military equipment for Israel had been granted between the day of the Hamas attack that triggered the war in Gaza.
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