Berlin — German Chancellor Friedrich Merz announced that Germany will suspend all new approvals for military exports to Israel that could be used in Gaza. This marks the first time since reunification that Berlin has withheld military support from Israel, a nation it has long defended militarily and diplomatically under the pretext of “historical responsibility.” The ongoing genocide of Palestinians in Gaza, with entire neighborhoods erased and civilian casualties mounting daily, has forced Germany to confront its complicity in the bloodshed.
The decision comes in direct response to Israel’s latest escalation, the approval of a plan to seize control of Gaza City. Legal experts and humanitarian agencies warn that this constitutes a flagrant breach of the International Court of Justice ruling and further entrenches the Gaza genocide. Between the October 7 Hamas attack on Israel and mid-May 2025, Germany had approved €485 million in arms export licenses to Israel, a nearly tenfold surge from pre-war levels. Merz’s suspension is being presented as a move to prevent German-made weapons from intensifying the humanitarian catastrophe, though critics argue the action comes far too late to absolve Berlin of responsibility.
The backlash from Tel Aviv was immediate. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu accused Germany of abandoning an ally in wartime, repeating hollow claims that Israel seeks only to “liberate” Gaza from Hamas. In reality, global outrage is mounting over Israel’s indiscriminate bombings, starvation tactics, and the systematic destruction of civilian infrastructure. This policy shift aligns Germany with a growing bloc of nations, including Saudi Arabia, Russia, and several EU members, that have openly condemned Israel’s actions, leaving the United States increasingly isolated in its unconditional support for the ongoing genocide in Gaza.
Germany’s suspension of arms exports reflects deep political, moral, and public pressure to end support for Israel’s military campaign. It is a reluctant yet significant acknowledgment that Western double standards on human rights have reached a breaking point. While the United States continues to fuel Israel’s war machine, Germany’s move signals a fracture in the once-united Western alliance, and a potential turning point in the global response to the war in Gaza, according to Reuters.
Public opinion within Germany has shifted sharply in recent months, with polls indicating nearly three-quarters of Germans favor restricting or banning arms sales to Israel. For decades, successive German governments maintained unconditional support for Israel as a matter of state policy, rooted in post-Holocaust atonement. But the Gaza genocide has made that stance politically untenable. Merz’s statement emphasized that the halt was necessary to advance goals like the release of hostages and disarming Hamas, even as Israel’s tactics are making those objectives more remote. This calculated repositioning underscores Berlin’s awareness that continuing to arm Israel risks not only moral condemnation but potential legal repercussions under international law, according to The Guardian.
In Tel Aviv, Netanyahu’s government is reeling from the loss of a key supplier. Germany is Israel’s second-largest arms source after the United States, and the halt could significantly impact the Israeli military’s operational capacity. For Washington, the move is a diplomatic embarrassment that shatters the narrative of a united Western bloc behind Israel’s military actions. Humanitarian agencies warn that Gaza’s civilian population, already facing acute malnutrition among thousands of children under five, remains in grave danger as Israeli forces press their assault. Germany’s decision is being watched closely in European capitals, where debates over arms embargoes and sanctions are intensifying, according to NPR.
