The German government intends to lift the embargo it imposed last summer on arms shipments to Israel, following the ceasefire in the war in Gaza; This is what the German news agency reports this morning. According to the report, government spokesman Stefan Cornelius told the agency that the decision to remove all restrictions on the sale of weapons and defense equipment to Israel will take effect on November 24. According to the spokesman, the decision stems from “the cease-fire agreement between Israel and Hamas that has been in effect since October 10.”
Germany is the second largest supplier of arms to Israel, after the United States. About 30% of Israeli defense imports in the last decade came from Germany. Last August, German Chancellor Friedrich Mertz unexpectedly decided to freeze arms shipments and new security contracts to Israel, if they might be used in the Gaza Strip. Mertz justified the move by the decision of the Israeli government at the time to advance the war to another stage, and the humanitarian situation that prevailed in the Gaza Strip. The decision then provoked criticism from the more right-wing wing of the party, and also among the ruling party’s Bavarian sister party.
Due to the fact that Germany also provides engines for tanks and APCs, shells for tanks – and not only submarines and vessels – the decision at the time was considered to have the potential to harm the readiness of the IDF. But the harsh decision also helped Germany avoid other measures against Israel, including defending Israel’s trade agreement at the EU level, on the grounds that pressure measures should be reserved for relevant areas only, such as weapons. At the end of last week, a court in Berlin again rejected petitions submitted against arms exports to Israel and said that this depends on the considerations of the government.
As mentioned, the ceasefire agreement changed the picture. Friedrich Mertz, who in recent days has returned and declared that Germany will “always stand by Israel”, is expected to lead the cancellation of the decision at an upcoming government meeting. Israel’s ambassador to Germany, Ron Proschauer, called on the chancellor to carry out the move in a series of interviews he gave in the German media in recent days.
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