Although German Chancellor Olaf Scholz has reaffirmed his military support for Israel repeatedly, the German Federal Security Council, chaired by Scholz, has not approved arms exports to Israel for months, according to a Sunday Profil Magazine report.
Chancellor Olaf Scholz hosts a reception for the diplomatic corps at the Chancellery in Berlin, Germany, September 10, 2024. (credit: REUTERS/AXEL SCHMIDT)However, despite the initial increase in weapons aid, this support was no longer provided at the beginning of 2024, as the Israeli media outlet Shomrim discovered after speaking to several representatives of the arms industry. Those spoken to chose to remain anonymous.
Israel’s need for weapons piles up, no permits come through
According to the report, the representatives explained how Israel’s requests for weapons and arms from Germany had piled up, but the necessary export permits had not come through.
“Often, there are no approvals at all – or they take forever to be processed,” the report noted. It added that “export volumes have dropped significantly compared to last year – from 326 million euros to 14.5 million (as of August 21, 2024).”
A heated topic in the party
When asked about the issue in the Middle East, a Green Party official of the Foreign Ministry said that the topic of arms exports “is not easy within our party. We have MPs who are hardcore Israel supporters and others who attend pro-Gaza demonstrations.”
Furthermore, the Economics Ministry, which processed politically approved export permits at the civil servant level, stated in response to an inquiry about arms exports that, “The federal government takes allegations of possible violations of international humanitarian law very seriously.”
Benjamin Weinthal contributed to this report.
