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Germany stops approving new arms export licences for Israel: Report

18 September 2024 21:58 BST

New licences for the export of "weapons of war" to Israel have been put on hold by Germany pending legal challenges, according to an exclusive report from Reuters. 

Citing data from Germany's economy ministry and a source close to it, licences for "weapons of war" to Israel amounted to just $36,150 in 2024 and total arms exports dropped to $16.1m.

In 2023, arms exports including military equipment and weapons of war totalled $363.5m - which was a 10-fold increase from 2022. 

According to the report, Germany "had stopped work on approving export licences for arms to Israel pending a resolution of legal cases arguing that such exports from Germany breached humanitarian law".

Germany currently faces two cases, one at the International Court of Justice (ICJ) and one brought by the European Center for Constitutional and Human Rights (ECCHR). 

Read more: Germany stops approving new arms export licences for Israel: Report

Masks depicting Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and German Chancellor Olaf Scholz are seen during a pro-Palestinian demonstration in Berlin, Germany, on 4 May 2024 (Lisi Niesner/Reuters)
Masks depicting Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and German Chancellor Olaf Scholz are seen during a pro-Palestinian demonstration in Berlin, Germany, on 4 May 2024 (Lisi Niesner/Reuters)