German chancellor vows to continue supplying weapons to Israel

GENEVA

Chancellor Olaf Scholz on Thursday said Germany would continue to supply arms to Israel, which continues air and ground attacks in Gaza and Lebanon.

During the German Bundestag debate on the Oct. 7, 2023 attack by Hamas, Scholz said: “We have supplied weapons and we will supply weapons. ... We have made decisions in the government that will also ensure that there will be further deliveries in the near future. And then you will see that this was a false reproach.”

The coalition government led by the Social Democrats, Greens, and Free German Party had been criticized by the main opposition Christian Democrats for not doing enough for Israel.

“For weeks and months, the German government has been refusing export licenses, for example for ammunition and even for the delivery of spare parts for tanks to Israel,” said Friedrich Merz, the leader of the largest opposition party, the Christian Democratic Union of Germany (CDU), during the debate.

According to Merz, there are “a large number of companies in Germany that have come forward with written documents saying they have applied for permits and have not been processed by the federal government for months.”

“What is this other than the de facto denial of export licenses?” continued Merz.

According to answers from the Federal Economic Affairs and Climate Action Ministry to questions from the left-wing Bundnis Sahra Wagenknecht (BSW) party, the government had not approved any more war weapons exports to Israel between March and August.

In Germany, a distinction is made between “war weapons” and “military equipment.” According to the ministry, “war weapons” are subject to further restrictions.

“Military equipment” is also defined as “war weapons” and is specified in the War Weapons List, an annex to the War Weapons Control Act.

Prior to the debate, BSW party leader Sahra Wagenknecht had also spoken out on X about arms deliveries to Israel.

“If the German government wants to credibly emphasize its demand for a cease-fire and a two-state solution, it must no longer support Israel's ruthless warfare by approving arms deliveries and must finally push for an end to the spiral of violence,” said Wagenknecht.