Germany's halt to arms exports to Israel is response to Gaza expansion plans, chancellor says - Reuters

 

by Reuters

"We cannot deliver weapons into a conflict that is now being pursued exclusively by military means. We want to help diplomatically, and we are doing so," German Chancellor Friedrich Merz said.

 

File pictures shows the leader and top candidate for Chancellor of Germany's Christian Democratic Union (CDU) party Friedrich Merz (L, on February 24, 2025 in Berlin) and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu (on December 9, 2024 in Jerusalem.

(photo credit: INA FASSBENDER and Maya Alleruzzo / various sources / AFP, Photo by INA FASSBENDER,MAYA ALLERUZZO/AF)

 

Germany's decision to curb arms exports to Israel comes in response to Israel's plan to expand its operations in the Gaza Strip, Chancellor Friedrich Merz said on Sunday in an interview with public broadcaster ARD.

"We cannot deliver weapons into a conflict that is now being pursued exclusively by military means," Merz said. "We want to help diplomatically, and we are doing so."

The worsening humanitarian crisis in Gaza and Israel's plans to expand military control over the enclave have pushed Germany to take this historically fraught step.

The chancellor said in the interview that the expansion of Israel's operations in Gaza could claim hundreds of thousands of civilian lives and would require the evacuation of the entire city of Gaza.

"Where are these people supposed to go?" Merz said. "We can't do that, we won't do that, and I will not do that."

Palestinians gather at the site of an Israeli strike in Gaza City on August 8, 2025. (credit: Mahmoud Issa/Reuters)

Merz says Germany will continue to stand by Israel 

Nevertheless, the principles of Germany's Israel policy remain unchanged, the chancellor said.

"Germany has stood firmly by Israel's side for 80 years. That will not change," Merz said. 

Germany is Israel's second-biggest weapons supplier after the US and has long been one of its staunchest supporters, principally because of its historical guilt for the Nazi Holocaust - a policy known as the "Staatsraison."

Reuters

Source: https://www.jpost.com/international/article-863830

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