BERLIN: Germany has authorized over $100 million in military exports to Israel in the last three months, Foreign Ministry data showed on Thursday, coinciding with the latest legal challenge by human rights groups concerned about the potential use of these weapons in the Gaza war.
Germany has approved €94,052,394 ($101.61 million) in arms exports to Israel since August 2024, according to a government response to a parliamentary inquiry by left-wing lawmaker Sevim Dagdelen.
The new permits followed a significant drop in arms exports to Israel in the first half of the year.
The European Center for Constitutional and Human Rights said on Thursday it had filed an appeal at the Frankfurt Administrative Court on behalf of a Gaza resident, seeking to halt further arms exports.
The appeal says German weapons are contributing to civilian harm in Gaza. The plaintiff, a Gaza resident who lost his wife and daughter in Israeli airstrikes, says ongoing arms shipments place his life and the lives of others in danger, calling on Germany to stop facilitating these transfers.
The action aimed at Germany’s Federal Office of Economics and Export Control, the German government responsible for such approval, focuses on Germany’s approval of military exports that could be used in the conflict, the ECCHR said.
The ECCHR says Germany’s exports violate international law, citing the Arms Trade Treaty, which prohibits arms transfers if there is a significant risk they will be used to commit war crimes.
