German gov’t ministers blocked arms sales to Israel over genocide in Gaza
Senior ministers in the German government have been blocking arms sales to Israel for the past seven months amid demands for Tel Aviv to guarantee it will not use the weapons for war crimes and genocidal acts, reports have revealed.
According to the German newspaper Bild and American outlet Politico, Germany’s Vice Chancellor Robert Habeck and Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock have been withholding approval for arms exports to Israel, seeking assurances from the occupation state that its occupation forces will not use German weapons to commit a genocide and war crimes against Palestinians.
Those refusals to approve the exports were reportedly made in Germany’s Federal Security Council, the body consisting of senior ministers which essentially approves decisions regarding arms exports to foreign states. The two ministers are also part of the country’s Green Party, which is in a governing coalition with Chancellor Olaf Scholz’s Social Democrats.
While approved arms exports from Germany to Israel amounted to €14.5 million ($15.8 million) from January to 21 August this year, only two per cent of those were reportedly combat weapons, with the rest consisting of other military equipment such as helmets, protective vests and communications equipment.
Reuters reported last month that last year Germany approved arms exports to Israel worth €326.5 million ($363.5 million), including military equipment and war weapons, a ten-fold increase from 2022, according to data from the Economy Ministry, which approves export licences.
The limitation this year was further extended over the months, with Berlin not having approved any exports of war weapons to Israel since March, until Tel Aviv provides a guarantee that such weapons will not be used against Palestinian civilians.
READ: Germany describes images of civilians burning after Israeli bombing in Gaza as ‘horrendous’
As one unnamed source familiar with the matter told Politico, “Arms deliveries to Israel are about compliance with the rules of international humanitarian law”, and the “reason for requesting such a commitment is that a German administrative court could otherwise put a stop” to the deliveries. “This danger is justified and must be addressed,” they were quoted as saying.
The revelation comes after months of Germany insisting that it has not halted or paused arms deliveries to Israel, in response to Tel Aviv’s accusations that it had done so. This week, German Chancellor Scholz reiterated his support for arming Israel’s bombardment and invasion, telling lawmakers in the Bundestag – amid a heated debate over the issue – that deliveries will resume.
“We have not stopped supplying weapons. We have supplied weapons, and we will continue to supply weapons”, Scholz stated.