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Germany refusing weapons sales to Israel, continues to supply Qatar

German weapon sales to Israel were 300 million euros in 2023, but they dropped to only 14 million euros in 2024.

By Vered Weiss, World Israel News

Although Germany hasn’t announced an official embargo of arms to Israel, it consistently refused or delayed requests for weapons while continuing to sell weapons systems to Qatar, the German newspaper Bilt reports.

Israel issued a request to Germany to purchase thousands of tank shells but received no response.

However, Germany approved 100 million euros of weapons to Qatar.

“Military procurement abroad is especially important for the Jewish state which is fighting on several fronts against the Hamas and Hezbollah terror groups,” Bilt wrote.

Israeli sources say that of the many requests for arms, only a few have been approved.

The impasse results from a conflict between the German Chancellor’s office and the National Security Council on one side, which approves of arms sales to Israel, and the Foreign Office on the other side, which is against selling weapons to the Jewish State, citing the number of Gazan civilians.

On the diplomatic stage, Germany openly expresses support for Israel, particularly since Hamas’s invasion on October 7th, and has forestalled anti-Israel initiatives.

The falling numbers indicate the slowing of arms sales from Germany to Israel; sales in 2023 were 300 million euros, but in 2024, they dropped to only 14 million.

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Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu could face immediate arrest if he were to travel to Germany, a senior German official said.

Steffen Hebestreit, a senior spokesman for the German government and head of the country’s press information office, responded to questions in May about whether Germany would enforce the arrest warrants issued by the International Criminal Court this week against Prime Minister Netanyahu and Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant.

“Of course,” Hebestreit said. “Yes, we abide by the law.”

A day earlier, Israeli Ambassador to Germany Ron Prosor called on Berlin to reject ICC chief prosecutor Karim Khan’s decision to issue arrest warrants for Netanyahu and Gallant, alongside similar warrants for three senior Hamas leaders.

Prosor tweeted, “The Chief Prosecutor equates a democratic government with Hamas, thereby demonizing and delegitimizing Israel and the Jewish people.”

“He has completely lost his moral compass. Germany has a responsibility to readjust this compass. This disgraceful political campaign could become a nail in the coffin for the West and its institutions. Do not let it come to that!”