And it happens Israel About three-quarters of its weapons are from the United States, but some European decisions towards them reflect anti-war positions, as a result of internal pressures on governments, although their operational impact on the Israeli army is limited.
During the past few hours, French President Emmanuel Macron, Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez, and German Chancellor Olaf Scholz spoke about “exporting weapons to Israel,” albeit in different tones.
Macron sticks to his opinion
On Friday, the French President renewed his call to stop exports of weapons used in the Gaza Strip Gaza And Lebanon, stressing that it is the only possible means to end the two conflicts taking place between Israel on the one hand and Hamas and Hezbollah on the other hand.
Macron said in a press conference from Cyprus: “This is in no way a call to disarm Israel. Rather, it is a call to stop any destabilization in this part of the world.”
He added: “We emphasized the necessity of a ceasefire, and it is a necessary ceasefire in Gaza and in Lebanon. It is currently necessary for both our hostages and the civilian population who are victims of violence, and to avoid the regional expansion of the conflict.”
The French President continued: “For this reason, France called for an end to the export of weapons used in these battlefields. We all know that it is the only way to put an end to it.”
A few days ago, Macron said that arms shipments used in the Gaza conflict must stop, which angered Israel and prompted its Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu To say the next day that imposing restrictions on Israel would only serve Iran and its allies.
France is not a major arms supplier to Israel, as it exported military equipment worth 30 million euros ($33 million) last year, according to the annual arms exports report issued by the Ministry of Defense.
Spanish appeals
The Spanish Prime Minister called on the international community on Friday to stop supplying weapons to Israel, after a meeting with Pope Francis in the Vatican.
Sanchez told reporters: “I think there is an urgent need, in light of everything that is happening in the Middle East, for the international community to stop exporting weapons to the Israeli government.”
“This will be my appeal to the entire international community,” he added, adding that it is necessary “not to contribute in one way or another to the escalation and expansion of violence and war in Gaza, the West Bank or, in this case, in Lebanon.”
Sanchez is one of the European Union leaders most critical of the war launched by Israel on the Gaza Strip, and on Wednesday he described the Israeli military operation in… Lebanon Calling it an “invasion”, he called on the international community to take action.
Germany, in contrast
On Thursday, the German Chancellor announced the delivery of new shipments of weapons to Israel, taking a position different from that of Macron.
And he said Schulz Before the House of Representatives during discussions on the first anniversary of the Hamas attack on Israel on October 7, 2023: “We in the government took decisions that would ensure the delivery of more weapons soon. We did not take a decision to stop the delivery of weapons.”
Schulz was responding to accusations leveled by the conservative opposition to the government, that it had halted arms deliveries to Israel for months, which led to a “fracture of German solidarity” with it.
The German Chancellor continued: “We have delivered weapons and we will deliver weapons” to Israel, without specifying their type, size, or the purpose for which they will be used.
The leader of the conservative German opposition, Friedrich Merz, said before the Bundestag on Thursday that, “For weeks and months, the federal government has been refusing permits to export ammunition and even tank spare parts to Israel.”
He added that he was aware of a large number of cases in which “the government refused to grant the necessary approval to deliver the equipment that Israel now urgently needs to exercise its right to self-defense.”
Previous European decisions
European governments had previously spoken about reducing their military support for Israel, in light of its devastating war on the Gaza Strip, which has led to the death of about 42,000 Palestinians so far, and the injury of nearly 100,000.
Weeks ago, I announced Britain It suspended about 30 licenses to export military equipment to Israel for use in military operations in Gaza, after reviewing Israel’s compliance with international humanitarian law.
Although British arms exports to Israel are relatively small, Netanyahu denounced the Kingdom’s decision and described it as “shameful.”
In late 2023, Italy announced that it would stop issuing new permits related to the export of weapons to Israel, in accordance with Italian law that prohibits the export of weapons to countries that are at war, or that are believed to violate international law.
Despite this, the Italian Defense Minister said last March that his country continued to export weapons to Israel, but stressed that only pre-signed orders were implemented, after conducting checks to ensure that the weapons were not being used against civilians in Gaza.
In February 2024, the Netherlands stopped exporting spare parts for F-16 and F-35 fighters to Israel, based on a court ruling after filing a lawsuit against the Dutch government, due to its export of weapons to Israel used in the war on Gaza.
The government announced that arms exports to Israel since the beginning of the war are equipment for the Iron Dome defense system and anti-attacks on naval ships.
In Belgium, the governments of Brussels and Wallonia, two of the six governments in the country, decided to ban the export of weapons and military equipment to Israel.
