SAEDNEWS: Germany moved to suspend some arms exports to Israel as global condemnation mounts over Tel Aviv’s crimes in Gaza, where mass starvation, devastation, and a soaring civilian death toll.
Germany’s conservative Chancellor Friedrich Merz, long a staunch defender of Israel, announced Friday that his government would halt deliveries of weapons that could be used in the Gaza offensive.
He said Israel’s military campaign was failing to achieve its stated goals of eliminating Hamas or securing the release of captives.
The decision marks a striking shift for Merz, who after his February election pledged to welcome Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu to Germany, even in defiance of an International Criminal Court arrest warrant.
It underscores a growing challenge to Germany’s entrenched pro-Israel policy, historically rooted in post-World War II guilt, as images of Gaza’s starving children and the destruction of its cities erode public tolerance for Israel’s war.
“This is the first concrete step by this government — not a U-turn, but a warning shot,” said Muriel Asseburg of the German Institute for International and Security Affairs.
Berlin’s move follows months of increasingly sharp rhetoric toward Israel’s genocidal campaign in the besieged Palestinian enclave, though it still falls short of the stronger measures urged by some European allies and members of Merz’s coalition.
The suspension applies only to weapons that could be deployed in Gaza.
Public sentiment in Germany has hardened.
A recent ARD-DeutschlandTREND survey found 66% want Berlin to apply greater pressure on Israel to change its conduct — up from 57% in April 2024.
Nearly half of respondents said the government is not doing enough for Palestinians, while only 31% believe Germany’s history creates a special obligation to Israel — a sharp departure from the doctrine enshrined by former Chancellor Angela Merkel in 2008.
Some within Merz’s coalition have demanded bolder steps.
Social Democrat MP Adis Ahmetovic urged sanctions on Israeli ministers and the suspension of the EU-Israel Association Agreement, as well as emergency medical evacuations for wounded Palestinian children.
German media have also mirrored the divide.
Der Spiegel accused Israel of committing war crimes and denounced Berlin’s complicity, while mass-market daily Bild attacked what it called growing anti-Israel sentiment and defended Israel’s military aggressions.
Israel has killed nearly 62,000 Palestinians in its ongoing bombardment according to Gaza’s health ministry and is using starvation as a weapon in Gaza.
Critics counter that Berlin’s hesitancy has weakened the West’s leverage to stop the onslaught and ease the humanitarian blockade.
Germany remains Israel’s second-largest arms supplier after the United States, and is also a major buyer of Israeli weapons systems, including the Arrow-3 missile defence system.
Just last week, Israeli defence company Elbit Systems signed a $260 million deal with Airbus to supply the German Air Force with infrared defence technology.
Volker Beck, head of the German-Israeli Society, warned against what he called “German arrogance” and suggested that if Israel retaliated by cutting arms to Germany, it could undermine the country’s air defences.
