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Germany has suspended licenses for any new arms exports to Israel as it deals with legal challenges, a Reuters analysis of data and a source close to the German Economy Ministry has found.
Last year, Germany approved arms exports to Israel worth 326.5 million euros ($363.5 million), including military equipment and weapons used in warfare, a tenfold increase over 2022, according to data from the Economy Ministry, which approves export licenses.
However, approvals have fallen this year. Data provided by the Economy Ministry in response to a parliamentary question show that the value of German weapons supplied to Israel did not exceed 14.5 million euros from January to August 21.
Of this amount, the category of “weapons of war” accounted for only 32,449 euros.
A source close to the ministry quoted a senior government official as saying that it had halted work on approving arms export licenses to Israel pending the resolution of legal issues alleging that such exports from Germany violate humanitarian law.
The ministry did not respond to requests for comment.
The source added that the government said it had not exported any weapons of war under any license issued since Hamas attacks on Israel on October 7, except for spare parts for long-term contracts, in its defense of two cases, one before the International Court of Justice and another in Berlin filed by the European Center for Constitutional and Human Rights.
No case challenging German arms exports to Israel has been accepted so far, including one brought by Nicaragua before the International Court of Justice.
