Germany to lift Israeli arms sales ban, FM welcomes the move

On November 17th local time, the German government announced it will officially lift the ban on military equipment exports to Israel on November 24th, and will subsequently resume the case-by-case review mechanism, adjusting export decisions based regional dynamics.

German government spokesperson Hagen Kornelius stated that the core basis for the lifting of the ban is the “gradual stabilization” of the regional situation the ceasefire agreement reached between Israel and Hamas in October this year. It is known that German Chancellor Merz ordered the suspension of related arms sales in early August in response to Israels aggressive military operations in the Gaza Strip. As Israel’s second-largest supplier of weapons, 30% of Israel’s main imported weapons from 201 to 2023 came from Germany.

Kornelius emphasized that the resumption of the review does not mean that all export applications will be approved, and will continue to promote lasting peace in the region and continue to invest in humanitarian aid and reconstruction work in Gaza. Israeli Foreign Minister Eli Cohen expressed a clear welcome to Germany’s move social media on the same day.