Germany holds back weapons supply to Israel, despite promise of support - report

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. 

According to the report, no approvals for arms exports to Israel have been granted since March. However, Scholz made public declarations of his solidarity with Israel and promised continued military aid at the end of July.

Furthermore, following the October 7 Hamas attacks on Israel, Scholz came to Israel and delivered a pledge of unconditional solidarity with Jerusalem. He, along with German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock, have repeatedly emphasized their belief in Israel's right to self-defense, which included waging war in the Gaza Strip.

"Ultimately, the growing concerns [against Israel] are the reason why fewer approvals are being granted, even if no one wants to say it out loud," summarized an employee of a representative on the Federal Security Council. 

Approvals to export arms to Israel were initially granted at the start of the Israel-Hamas war , and they included an increase in export approvals that reportedly totaled a value of 326 million euros – ten times more than in the previous year, 2022, before the war.

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)."

Meanwhile, Germany's budget plan reportedly still includes a line mentioning that it will "Contribute to the procurement of defense systems for Israel."

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."

"The federal government publicly and privately communicates to Israel its expectation that Israel will comply with international humanitarian law when exercising its right to self-defense," it added. 

According to the daily Bild, sales of heavy weapons systems to the Emirate of Qatar – one of the most important supporters of the terrorist group Hamas – were approved.

Benjamin Weinthal contributed to this report.