German Chancellor Friedrich Merz and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. (GPO)
After coming under fire from his own party for imposing a partial arms embargo on Israel, Germany’s chancellor reverses course, with suspension on weapons sales to be lifted next week.
By World Israel News Staff
Germany will lift its partial arms embargo on Israel next week, more than a month after a ceasefire went into effect in the Gaza Strip between Israel and Hamas.
On Monday, a German government spokesperson announced that Berlin has decided to terminate the order freezing the sale of some military equipment to Israel beginning on Nov. 24.
“The government will, as a general rule, revert to case-by-case reviews in decisions on arms exports and respond to further developments,” the spokesperson said.
German Chancellor Friedrich Merz imposed the partial arms embargo in August, citing the ongoing war in the Gaza Strip.
“The principles of German policy toward Israel remain unchanged,” Merz told ARD at the time of the embargo order.
“But we cannot supply weapons to a conflict that is being attempted to be resolved exclusively by military means, which could claim hundreds of thousands of civilian casualties.”
The decision drew criticism from Merz’s own party, the center-right Christian Democratic Union, but earned support from the left-wing Social Democratic Party, a partner in the coalition government.
Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Sa’ar praised Merz’s decision to lift the restrictions on arms sales and urged other countries with embargoes on Israel to follow suit.
“I welcome Chancellor Merz’s move to revoke the decision regarding the partial ’embargo’,” Sa’ar wrote on X Monday morning.
“I call on other governments to adopt similar decisions, following Germany.”
Germany was, prior to the August embargo, the second-largest exporter of military equipment to Israel, following the United States.
The August export ban prohibited the sale of offensive weaponry that Berlin deemed could be used in the Gaza war, while allowing other equipment to continue to be exported.
The German government spokesperson also emphasized Berlin’s continued support for a two-state solution and the reconstruction of the Gaza Strip.
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