German court expected to order government to suspend arms exports to Israel: Report

By Oliver Towfigh Nia

BERLIN (AA) - An administrative court in Berlin is expected to order the German government to suspend its arms exports to Israel under the War Weapons Control Act until it reaches a ruling, junge Welt daily reported Tuesday.

The court is calling on the federal government to explain the criteria according to which weapons are delivered to Israel without violating international law.

What is required is a description of the considerations underlying the previous approval practice as well as a concrete statement by May 15, according to an April 26 court letter to the federal government cited by junge Welt.

On April 5, Berlin-based human rights lawyers filed an urgent appeal against Germany's government to stop exports of war weapons to Israel, citing reasons to believe they were being used in ways violating international humanitarian law in Gaza.

The court therefore assumes that no arms deliveries to Israel that fall under the War Weapons Control Act will be approved until a decision on the urgent appeal is made, and the court is threatening an interim decision prohibiting these, if the federal government does not comply with the decision.

According to the International Court of Justice, Germany said there has been a significant decrease since last November in the value of material for which export licenses were granted, from approximately €200 million ($213.6 million) last October to about €24 million in November 2023 to around €1 million in March 2024.

The court also noted that, since last Oct. 7, according to Germany, only four licenses for “war weapons” have been granted: two for training ammunition, one for propellant charges for test purposes, and one concerned the export of 3,000 portable anti-tank weapons.

The court added that Israel also approached the German government last year for tank ammunition and that no decision has thus far been made on this request.

In addition, according to Germany, the licensing for export of a submarine to Israel is currently pending, as only one of the two licenses required for this export has so far been granted.

Finally, the court noted Germany’s statement that 98% of the licenses granted since Oct. 7 concerned “other military equipment” and not “war weapons.”

Israel has waged a brutal offensive on the Palestinian enclave since a cross-border attack by Hamas on Oct. 7 last year, which Tel Aviv says killed nearly 1,200 people.

More than 34,500 Palestinians have since been killed, mostly women and children, and thousands of others injured amid mass destruction and severe shortages of necessities.

More than six months into the Israeli war, vast swathes of Gaza lay in ruins, pushing 85% of the enclave’s population into internal displacement amid a crippling blockade of food, clean water, and medicine, according to the UN.

Israel stands accused of genocide at the International Court of Justice. An interim ruling in January ordered Tel Aviv to stop genocidal acts and take measures to guarantee that humanitarian assistance is provided to civilians in Gaza.