Despite the Gaza war, the German government has refrained from imposing a ban on military weapons exports to Israel. In fact, however, no such deliveries have been approved for six months.
The federal government has not approved any military weapons exports to Israel since March. This is clear from responses from the Federal Ministry of Economics to inquiries from Bundestag member Sevim Dagdelen from the Sahra Wagenknecht alliance, which were made available to the German Press Agency. According to this, the traffic light cabinet granted permission for the delivery of military weapons worth 32,449 euros between the beginning of the year and August 21. However, the approvals date from January (30,449 euros) and February (2,000 euros).
In addition, since the beginning of the year, the traffic light government has permitted the delivery of “other military equipment” worth 14.42 million euros to Israel. War weapons are weapons that are explicitly intended for warfare, i.e. rifles, rockets, warships, bombs or ammunition. Other military equipment includes helmets, protective vests or unarmed vehicles. The data from the Ministry of Economic Affairs comes from responses to Dagdelen’s inquiries on September 10 and April 9.
“There is no German arms export boycott”
In recent months, the German government has repeatedly stressed that it decides on military weapons exports to Israel on a case-by-case basis and that there is no general export ban. On Wednesday evening, government spokesman Steffen Hebestreit reiterated this position: “There is no German arms export boycott of Israel.”
The Ministry of Economic Affairs, which is responsible for arms exports and is headed by Green Party politician Robert Habeck, made a similar statement: “There is no ban on arms exports to Israel, and there will be no ban,” a spokesman told dpa when asked. The current situation is always taken into account when making decisions on a case-by-case basis. “This includes both the attacks on Israel by Hamas and Hezbollah and the course of the operation in Gaza.”
In 2023, war weapons worth more than 20 million euros were approved
Last year, the traffic light government approved arms deliveries to Israel worth 326.5 million euros, including military weapons worth 20.1 million euros. This put Israel in seventh place in the list of the largest buyers of German arms. The majority of the export permits date back to the period after the terrorist attack by the Islamist Hamas on October 7.
At the time, Chancellor Olaf Scholz (SPD) had repeatedly stressed that Israel’s security was part of Germany’s state policy. The Ministry of Economic Affairs, which is responsible for arms exports, declared in November that as a consequence of the terrorist attacks, “applications for the export of military equipment to Israel would be processed and approved as a priority.” The approved military weapons exports included anti-tank weapons and ammunition.
Nicaragua has filed a lawsuit against German arms exports
The fact that no permits for military weapons have been issued for six months now could also have something to do with ongoing proceedings at the International Court of Justice in The Hague. The Latin American country of Nicaragua accuses Germany of aiding and abetting genocide and has filed a lawsuit with the court. At the end of April, the judges rejected an urgent application to stop arms exports. However, they did not comply with Germany’s request to reject Nicaragua’s lawsuit entirely. The main proceedings could drag on for years.
However, Vice Chancellor Habeck (Greens) made it clear on Wednesday evening at a citizens’ dialogue with the “Neue Osnabrücker Zeitung” that, in his view, certain military weapons exports should continue to be permitted if Israel requests them. He called for a differentiated approach: Weapon systems that are necessary to defend Israel’s existence, such as maritime systems or air defense systems, should continue to be approved quickly. Systems that could be used in the Gaza Strip, where there is at least a suspicion that international humanitarian law is being violated, should be treated differently.
German submarine could soon be delivered to Israel
The export of a maritime weapon of war to Israel is imminent. The “INS Drakon”, the sixth German submarine destined for Israel, is almost ready for delivery at the Kiel shipyard of ThyssenKrupp Marine Systems. Construction began in 2006, but the traffic light government only granted the final export license at the end of last year. The delivery to Israel was once planned for the turn of the year 2024/25.
Israel has already ordered three more submarines of the new “Dakar” class from ThyssenKrupp Marine Systems in early 2022. However, the delivery of the first of these boats will still take years.
BSW: Stop arms exports to Israel completely
BSW politician Dagdelen is calling for arms exports to Israel to be stopped completely. “In order to stop the killing in Gaza, the traffic light coalition must completely stop its arms exports to the Netanyahu government, which is in parts right-wing extremist,” she said.
Source: Stern
I have been working in the news industry for over 6 years, first as a reporter and now as an editor. I have covered politics extensively, and my work has appeared in major newspapers and online news outlets around the world. In addition to my writing, I also contribute regularly to 24 Hours World.
