The German government announced on Monday its decision to lift the restrictions on military equipment exports to Israel. This move comes in the wake of the recent ceasefire between Israel and Hamas.
In early August, Chancellor Friedrich Merz said that Berlin would refrain from authorising any military equipment exports to Israel that could potentially be utilised in Gaza “until further notice.”
According to a statement by spokesperson Sebastian Hille, these restrictions will be lifted on 24 November.
“Since 10 October, we have had a ceasefire in Gaza and it has fundamentally stabilised,” Hille told reporters at a regular government news conference. “That is the basis for this decision.”
“We expect everyone to keep to the agreements that were reached — that includes the ceasefire holding, that includes humanitarian aid being provided on a large scale and the process continuing to run in an orderly way, as agreed,“ he added.
Hille did not provide comments regarding whether there had been any Israeli requests for equipment since the imposition of the restrictions or if any specific requests had been withheld. Upon the lifting of these restrictions, Germany intends to evaluate military export requests on a case-by-case basis, consistent with its standard practices.
Merz’s decision in August was a significant development for a country that maintains a steadfast alliance with Israel. The Israeli foreign minister, Gideon Saar, expressed appreciation for the lifting of these restrictions in a post shared on the social network X on Monday.
“I call on other governments to adopt similar decisions, following Germany,“ the Israeli foreign minister wrote.
This article used information from The Associated Press.
