German Chancellor Friedrich Merz has defended his decision to ban weapons exports to Israel that could be used in the war in Gaza. Merz is facing political resistance from within his conservative alliance but says he will not change his mind.

Berlin

German Chancellor Friedrich Merz has justified the government's decision to impose a partial embargo on arms deliveries to Israel, specifically restricting weapons that could be used in Gaza. This policy shift follows heightened concern in Germany over the humanitarian crisis in Gaza, particularly after Israel expanded its military operations in the region, a move the German government had advised against.

The embargo does not affect weapons intended for Israel's self-defense, such as air and maritime defense systems. While the exact list of affected weapons is not public, German officials emphasized that Israel's ability to defend itself will not be compromised. The decision has drawn criticism from Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu but is viewed by German officials as a measured response to the evolving situation.

Merz defends partial arms embargo on Israel

Let's take a closer look at all of this with DW political correspondent Julia Saudelli in Berlin. Julia, not so long ago when he was still the leader of the opposition, Friedrich Merz sharply criticized his predecessor, then-Chancellor Olaf Scholz, for limiting arms deliveries to Israel. So why this decision now? Well, the situation has deteriorated in comparison to when Olaf Scholz was the Chancellor of Germany, and this is something that has resonated a lot also in Germany, especially the images of starving adults and children in the media have touched a chord in Germany and shown that the situation in Gaza is desperate. But also, what was the last drop seems to have been with Chancellor Friedrich Merz was the decision by the Israeli government to expand its military operation in the Gaza Strip. This is something that the German government had advised Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu against, and this is something that he has decided he is not willing to accept without doing something against it, and hence introducing this stop to the delivery of weapons to Israel that can be used in Gaza. And it shows that this is something that the German Chancellor takes very seriously for him to take this step that some here consider something unprecedented. Israel's Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu immediately criticized the decision after it became public. He said it rewarded Hamas, and when he was asked about it at a press conference on Sunday with international journalists, he had this to say about the German Chancellor. Look, I respect Friedrich Merz. I think he's been a good friend of Israel, but I think he's buckled under. He's buckled under the pressure of false TV reports, the pressure, internal pressure from various groups. Rather unsubstantiated claims there by the Israeli Prime Minister. But looking at the broader implications, Julia, how significant is the German decision for Israel's military and for bilateral ties more broadly? Well, we've heard also explained by the equivalent of the chief of staff of the Chancellor Friedrich Merz, Torsten Frei. He said that, as already specified before, that this ban on weapons deliveries will only concern weapons that might be used in Gaza by the Israeli military, and it absolutely does not concern any kinds of weapons that Israel would use to defend itself, so air defense systems, maritime defense systems or anything that would endanger Israel's ability to be able to defend itself. Now, we don't have an exact list of weapons that Germany delivers and has been delivering to Israel. We know that since the attack by Hamas against Israel on October 7th of 2023, Germany has approved a total of €485 million worth of military goods to be delivered to Israel. That includes handguns, ammunition, air defense systems. But we don't know exactly which weapons, so it's hard to really define what impact this will have. But the feeling is that this will not have a large impact on the capabilities of Israel's military, and it—definitely, the intention of Germany is to absolutely not limit its capacity to defend itself. That was DW's Julia Saudelli. Thanks so much, Julia.

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