In response to Gaza expansion plans, Germany’s halt arms exports to Israel, chancellor Merz says

In an interview with public television ARD on Sunday, Chancellor Friedrich Merz stated that Germany’s decision to reduce military deliveries to Israel is a reaction to Israel’s intention to increase its operations in the Gaza Strip, according to Reuters report.

“We cannot deliver weapons into a conflict that is now being pursued exclusively by military means,” Friedrich Merz stated, Reuters quoted, “We want to help diplomatically, and we are doing so.”

Germany has taken this historically sensitive action in response to Israel’s ambitions to increase military control over the enclave and the deteriorating humanitarian situation in Gaza, as per Reuters.

During the interview, the chancellor stated, cited by Reuters that the escalation of Israel’s operations in Gaza would necessitate the evacuation of the whole city and could result in hundreds of thousands of civilian deaths.

“Where are these people supposed to go?” as per Reuters, citing Merz. “We can’t do that, we won’t do that, and I will not do that.”

But according to the chancellor, Germany’s approach to Israel remains based on the same principles, as per reports.

“Germany has stood firmly by Israel’s side for 80 years. That will not change,” according to Reuters, quoting Friedrich Merz.

As per Reuters report, Germany has long been one of Israel’s most ardent backers, primarily due to its historical guilt for the Nazi Holocaust, a strategy known as the “Staatsraison.” Germany is Israel’s second-largest supplier of armaments behind the United States.