The German Government announced this Monday the end of the embargo on arms exports to Israel decreed last August. According to Berlin, which adopted this decision in the midst of the escalation of Israeli attacks on the Gaza Strip, the measure is adopted because The situation has “stabilized in recent weeks” thanks to the entry into force of a fragile ceasefire in the Palestinian enclave.
A spokesperson for the Executive led by Friedrich Merz has stated that the truce “is the basis for this decisionand we hope that everyone respects the agreements reached”, in reference to the peace plan promoted by the US Administration and signed last October. The measure will come into force on November 24.
The German Government, according to its spokesman, Sebastian Hille, is determined to “return to examine each case individually and respond to new developments” regarding arms exports. Berlin has demanded that humanitarian aid enter the Palestinian enclave “on a large scale” and that the peace plan continue in an orderly manner.
Hille recalled that the German government had always said it would review its decision to temporarily restrict arms exports “in light of events on the ground.”
In this sense, he reiterated that the ceasefire is the most important point in this evaluation, but “there is a number of other criteria that have changed in the current situation compared to when hostilities were still continuing” and that have contributed to adopting this.
The German government’s export guidelines generally prohibit the supply of weapons to war and crisis zones. However, there are exceptions, such as support for Ukraine in its fight to stop the Russian invasion or the special case of Israel, whose security Berlin considers a matter of state. a debt for the crimes of the Holocaust.
The German Chancellor, Friedrich Merz, had announced on August 8 the suspension until further notice of arms exports to Israel that could be used in the Gaza Strip, after the Executive of Benjamin Netanyahu approve a military plan to occupy Gaza City.