Germany’s Defense Policy U-turn reverses Israel arms ban

The German government today announced that it would end restrictions on arms shipments to Israel. Government spokesperson Sebastian Hille announced that the decision will come into effect on 24 November.

Germany placed the partial sanction on Israel just three months ago, in August. At the time, chancellor Friedrich Merz was reacting to Israel’s plans to ramp up its assault on Gaza city.

Since that time, a UN commission has declared its recognition that Israel has carried out a genocide in the Gaza Strip.

‘Fundamentally stabilized’

However, Hille announced that:

We have always stated that we would review this practice in light of developments on the ground. Since 10 October, there has been a ceasefire in Gaza, which has also fundamentally stabilized. […]

We expect everyone to adhere to the agreements that have been made [including] maintaining the ceasefire, providing large-scale humanitarian aid.

As the Canary has previously reported, even by 18 October the Government Media Office in Gaza had confirmed that Israel committed 47 documented violations since the announcement of the most recent ceasefire. This included the murder of 38 Palestinian civilians and the injury of 143 others.

Likewise, Israel is still obstructing the delivery of “large-scale humanitarian aid” in Gaza. The office of Israeli PM Netanyahu said on Saturday 18 October that he had decided to keep the Rafah crossing between the Gaza Strip and Egypt closed until further notice. This has prevented the entry of food deliveries and humanitarian aid.

And, of course, none of that is even to mention Israel’s strikes on wider Palestine, Iran, Lebanon, Syria, Tunisia, Qatar and Yemen. These strikes have violated both agreed truces and, likely, international law.

‘Despite overwhelming evidence’

None of this is secret knowledge. The German government is aware of Israel’s atrocities. In fact, the European Centre for Constitutional Human Rights (ECCHR) is currently supporting a legal challenge against Germany’s arms sales to Israel, leveled by five Gaza-based plaintiffs.

The ECCHR explained that:

Despite overwhelming evidence of international law violations in Gaza, the German government continues to approve arms exports to Israel. United Nations experts, international human rights organizations and various international law experts have come to the conclusion that Israel’s actions in Gaza satisfy the legal criteria for genocide. In November 2024, the International Criminal Court issued arrest warrants for Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu and former Defense Minister Gallant, among others, citing war crimes and crimes against humanity. Yet, legal efforts to challenge German arms export licenses – led by five Gaza-based plaintiff and supported by ECCHR and its partners – have so far been rejected by the courts.

As a reminder: complicity in genocide is punishable under the Genocide Convention.

Francesca Albanese, the United Nations Special Rapporteur on human rights in the occupied Palestinian territories, has already called out Germany as being complicit in Israel’s genocide of the Palestinian people. In fact she named Germany, the UK and the US “indispensable enablers of the assault on Gaza”.

Even the majority of the German public agree that Israel is committing a genocide. A YouGov poll released in September showed that 62% of Germans believe Israeli actions in Gaza constitute genocide. Unfortunately, and much like the UK, this simple fact has done nothing to curb their government’s greed for Israel’s arms money — or to stop their elected representatives dragging their citizens into complicity in the most horrifying of atrocities.

Featured image via al Al Jazeera