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Israeli soldiers with artillery ammunition on the border with the Gaza Strip

Photo: ABIR SULTAN / EPA

Israel's security is German raison d'etre, something the federal government has been emphasizing since the beginning of the Gaza war. It is a commitment that includes arms exports.

Although the federal government has considerable doubts about the proportionality of Israel's military offensive in Gaza, it does not want to rule out continuing to supply German armaments to Israel. This emerges from the Foreign Office's response to a small question from Bundestag member Sevim Dağdelen from the Sahra Wagenknecht alliance, which SPIEGEL has received.

When asked whether the Federal Government wanted to impose an export ban in order to comply with the protection for Palestinians called for by the International Court of Justice, the Foreign Office referred to the practice of making decisions on a case-by-case basis. These were carried out "in light of the respective situation after careful examination, taking into account foreign and security policy considerations in accordance with legal and political requirements, including taking into account obligations under international law." Approvals for arms exports to Israel are therefore still possible.

At the same time, the Foreign Office asserts that Berlin is calling on Israel "both in direct discussions and publicly" to comply with international humanitarian law and "to allow more humanitarian aid in Gaza." Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock recently spoke of the “hell of Gaza”. During her most recent trip to the Middle East, the Green Party politician emphasized Israel's right to self-defense - but also emphasized that its war against the Islamist terrorist militia Hamas should not be fought "on the backs of the starving civilian population."

Representative Dağdelen

insists on an export ban

:

"Against the background of the UN Security Council resolution for an immediate ceasefire in Gaza, the federal government is called upon to immediately impose a weapons export ban instead of continuing to aid the Israeli army in its ruthless warfare by supplying weapons." , she told SPIEGEL.

In the first six weeks of this year alone, the federal government approved arms exports to Israel for around nine million euros; including war weapons for around 32,000 euros.

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