Germany to lift suspension of arms exports to Israel
The German government is expected to lift an order that suspended arms exports to Israel, according to the Middle East Eye and agencies on November 17th.
A government spokesperson said: “The government will, as a general rule, revert to case-by-case reviews in decisions on arms exports and respond to further developments.”
The spokesperson said that arms exports to Israel will resume on November 24th, around three months after Chancellor Friedrich Merz announced the suspension in response to Israeli plans to fully occupy Gaza.
The resumption of arms exports follows the US-backed ceasefire deal, which Merz reaffirmed support for after speaking with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. However, since the ceasefire came into effect on October 10th, Israel has violated the terms nearly 200 times.
Germany has been Israel’s second-largest supplier of arms, with the country approving €326.5 million worth of arms exports to Israel in 2023. Between October 7th, 2023, and May 13th, 2025, Germany granted €485 million worth of export licenses for military equipment to Israel.
On May 12th, President Frank-Walter Steinmeier described ties between Germany and Israel as “a gift that we Germans could not have expected after the horrors of the Second World War.” His Israeli counterpart, Isaac Herzog, said that cooperation between the countries was a “source of hope.”
Diplomatic ties between the nations were established in 1965, with Germany’s strong support being credited to the country’s “remembrance culture” as a form of atonement for Nazi-era crimes.
The suspension of arms exports to Israel was announced despite Israeli Ambassador Ron Prosor’s declaration that Germany is “Israel’s most important ally in Europe.”
During a visit to Israel, German Education Minister Karin Prien sparked outrage when she was recorded posing with a map that depicted Palestinian and Syrian territories as part of Israel. The government was accused by the German-Palestinian Society of legitimising Israeli occupation and annexation, with Palestinian-German representative Jules El Khatib describing the footage as “political communication that sends a signal.”
Under the guise of fighting antisemitism, German authorities ordered the deportation of pro-Palestine activists, who allegedly posed a threat to “national security.”
According to the Middle East Eye and agencies, a UN report found that over 60 nations are complicit in the “collective crime” of enabling genocide in Gaza. On September 16th, a UN Commission of Inquiry concluded that Israel was committing genocide against the Palestinian people in Gaza.
Middle East Eye and agencies, Maghrebi.org
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