Germany significantly increases its weapon exportations to Israel.
The German government has ended up approving more weapon exports to Israel than originally stated. Over just August, the Foreign Office gave the green light for 94.05 million euros worth of military supplies to a country currently engaged in conflict with Hamas in Gaza and Hezbollah in Lebanon. This is double the 45.74 million euros reported by the Ministry of Economics to the Economic Affairs Committee in the Bundestag for the entire year up to October 13. This new information comes from a response to a query by Left Party MP Sevim Dagdelen.
Months of argument have surrounded the topic of weapon deliveries to Israel. In the previous year, the traffic light government authorized exports of 326.5 million euros in weapons to Israel, including 20.1 million euros worth of military weapons. The majority of these export permits were issued after the October 7 terrorist attack by Hamas. However, the issuance of export permits drastically decreased in the initial months of this year.
Only 14.42 million euros worth of deliveries had been approved by August 21, according to an earlier parliamentary response. No military weapon exports were allowed from March until then. The opposition leader Ferdinand Merz from the CDU accused the federal government of obstructing export applications from arms manufacturers, including the delivery of ammunition and tank spare parts.
However, the federal government always insisted that there was no ban on arms exports. "We have provided weapons, and we will provide weapons," Chancellor Olaf Scholz promised in the Bundestag debate marking the anniversary of the October 7 attack. This stance is now backed by the statistics.
The Left Party's Dagdelen called the exports "reckless." "The traffic light government is aiding and abetting war crimes in Gaza and Lebanon by providing weapons aid to Israel, instead of recognizing the majority will of the German population for an arms embargo," she stated.
The ongoing dispute over weapon deliveries to Israel has led Dagdelen to criticize the traffic light government, referring to their continuing exports as "reckless." Given the ongoing conflict with Hamas in Gaza and Hezbollah in Lebanon, as well as the recent approval of 94.05 million euros worth of military supplies, there are concerns that these actions could contribute to a potential 'War with Israel.'
