A new survey has revealed that 60 percent of Germans oppose arms exports to Israel, with a majority of voters from the country’s three ruling coalition partners supporting restrictions.
According to a poll by Forsa, 50 percent of Green Party voters opposed weapons sales, while 60 percent of Social Democratic Party supporters and 52 percent of Free Democratic Party voters also rejected continued arms exports.
Opposition was particularly high in the former East Germany, where 75 percent of respondents rejected arms sales to Israel.
Last week, German media reported that several German leaders blocked the sale of weapons to Israel, despite Chancellor Olaf Scholz’s insistence that arms sales would continue.
According to a report by German tabloid Bild, Green politicians, Vice Chancellor Robert Habeck and Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock, who are in the governing coalition with the Social Democrats, withheld approval for weapons exports, demanding assurance that they would not be used on civilians.
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The War Weapons Control Act stipulates that German arms should not be used against civilians.
The German government is facing a number of lawsuits over its arms sales to Israel.
Reuters reported in September that Germany had put new licences for the export of “weapons of war” to Israel on hold pending legal challenges.
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Scholz has insisted that there is no genocide happening in Gaza and has reiterated Germany’s continued military support for Israel.
“We delivered and will deliver,” Scholz was quoted as saying in German media outlet Tagesspiegel.
On 7 October, which marked a year of the war on Gaza, Berlin ruled out a weapons export ban on Israel.
Deputy government spokeswoman Christiane Hoffmann told journalists that decisions on arms export were taken on an individual case by case basis, but added:
“There is no decision for a general boycott of arms exports to Israel. The federal government has not made that (decision).”