Germany announced on Nov. 17 that it is lifting restrictions on exports of military equipment to Israel, now that a cease-fire between Israel and Hamas exists.
However, German Chancellor Friedrich Merz’s spokesperson, Sebastian Hille, said that the embargoes would be lifted on Nov. 24.
“Since Oct. 10, we have had a cease-fire in Gaza, and it has fundamentally stabilized,” Hille said at a government news conference.
“That is the basis for this decision.
“We expect everyone to keep to the agreements that were reached—that includes the cease-fire holding, humanitarian aid being provided on a large scale, and the process continuing to run in an orderly way, as agreed.”
Hille did not say whether Israel had made any requests for equipment while the restrictions were in place, or whether Berlin had withheld anything.
Once the restrictions are lifted, Germany will examine military exports on a case-by-case basis, in line with its standard practice for such exports, he said.
“I call on other governments to adopt similar decisions, following Germany.”
Merz’s decision to impose restrictions in August came as a surprise to many, as Germany has long been a staunch ally of the Jewish state.
As a result, Germany has become the second-largest exporter of arms to Israel after the United States,
“Israel has the right to defend itself against Hamas’s terror. The release of the hostages and purposeful negotiations for a cease-fire are our top priorities. The disarmament of Hamas is essential. Hamas must play no role in the future of Gaza,” Merz said at the time.
However, he added that the decision to take “even tough military action” in Gaza made “it increasingly unclear to the German government how these goals are to be achieved.”
“Under these circumstances, the German government will not, until further notice, approve any exports of arms that could be used in the Gaza Strip,” Merz said, adding that Berlin called on Jerusalem “not to take any further steps toward annexing Gaza or to undertake ventures in the West Bank.”
The Cease-Fire
The tense cease-fire has held since Oct. 10, and under the initial phase of the peace plan, Hamas is required to return all living and dead hostages to Israel, while Israel is to release the remains of 15 deceased Gazans for every released Israeli hostage.Trump’s plan says that once all Israeli hostages are released, Israel will “release 250 life sentence prisoners plus 1,700 Gazans who were detained after 7 October 2023, including all women and children detained in that context.”
