Germany will supply more weapons to Israel soon, Chancellor Olaf Scholz said on Thursday, after a significant drop in deliveries this year prompted opposition accusations that Berlin deliberately delayed the exports
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“We have not decided not to supply weapons We have supplied weapons and we will supply weapons”
Scholz told parliament at an event to commemorate the victims of the October 7 Hamas attack, countering an accusation from opposition leader Friedrich Merz. Chancellor Scholz added,
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"The government had made decisions “that also ensure that there will be further deliveries soon”
Merz, leader of Germany’s conservative opposition, accused the government of delaying arms exports to Israel, including ammunition and tank spare parts. Merz said at the parliamentary session,
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“For weeks and months, the federal government has refused to grant export permits for ammunition and even spare parts for tanks”
Merz added,
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“We are aware of several specific cases where the government has withheld approval for equipment and material that Israel urgently needs to defend itself”
Germany’s approvals for arms exports to Israel dropped sharply this year, with only 14.5 million euros’ worth granted from January to August 21 according to data provided by the economy ministry in response to a parliamentary question
In 2023 Germany approved arms exports to Israel worth 326.5 million euros including military equipment and war weapons, a 10-fold increase from 2022, data from the ministry, which approves export licenses, showed
Commenting on the fall in exports, the German government has said there is no arms export boycott on Israel and export permits are issued case-by-case after careful review, taking into account international law, foreign policy and security considerations
