Cleared by the Merz Government: Arms Exports to Israel
Almost 4 million euros' worth of weapons exported to Israel
Berlin (dpa) - The fresh Union-SPD federal government has endorsed arms deals worth approximately four million euros to Israel in the initial five weeks of its tenure. This was revealed by the Ministry of Economics in response to a query from the Left Party's Bundestag member Desiree Becker, now available to the public press.
According to this information, German manufacturers were permitted to deliver military hardware amounting to 3.986 million euros to the nation under debate for its military activities in the Palestinian Gaza Strip. It's important to note that no weapons of war were involved in these exports.
Moderate Scope of Approval
This is the first instance where the new government has shared details on the scale of arms exports it has approved for Israel. So far, it has merely referred to the Bundessicherheitsrat, the body responsible for arms exports, conducting secret meetings whenever the media sought information. However, the government regularly responds to parliamentary inquiries with pertinent information.
The extent of these approvals is relatively contained in comparison to the preceding administration. The traffic light coalition and later the minority red-green government approved arms exports worth nearly half a billion euros following the Hamas terrorist attack on Israel on October 7, 2023. In the first quarter of 2025, it was almost 28 million euros. Israel ranked tenth among the German arms industry's primary export destinations.
Legal Disputes over Arms Deliveries
Discussions surrounding German arms deliveries to Israel have been ongoing for months. A lawsuit was even filed with the International Criminal Court (ICC) in The Hague by the Latin American nation of Nicaragua, alleging Germany's complicity in genocide.
However, in recent weeks, the new government has escalated its criticism of Israel's actions in the Gaza Strip. Voices from the SPD demanded a complete halt to arms exports to Israel, while the Union has rejected this stance.
Becker, the Left Party's member, deemed it "politically reckless and morally appalling" that the federal government had authorized arms exports worth four million euros "during an intensifying conflict." Instead, "numerous medical supplies and food" could have been sent to the Gaza Strip.
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The federal government's decision to approve arms exports worth four million euros to Israel, amid intense political disputes and legal struggles over such deliveries, raises questions about the intersections of finance, politics, and general-news in the industry's regulatory framework. The moderate scope of approvals under the new government contrasts with the massive arms exports approved by the preceding administrations during similar conflicts in the region.
