Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu condemned the German Chancellor’s decision to declare an arms embargo on Israel.
By Rachel Avraham
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu spoke with German Chancellor Friedrich Merz on Friday evening and expressed his disappointment with Merz’s decision to embargo arms to Israel, Arutz Sheva reported.
“Instead of supporting Israel’s just war against Hamas, which carried out the most horrific attack against the Jewish people since the Holocaust, Germany is rewarding Hamas terrorism by embargoing arms to Israel,” said a statement from the Prime Minister’s Office. “Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said that Israel’s goal is not to take over Gaza, but to free Gaza from Hamas and enable a peaceful government to be established there.”
According to Arutz Sheva, a statement from the Prime Minister’s Office said earlier on Friday, “The Security Cabinet has officially approved the Prime Minister’s proposal to decisively defeat Hamas. The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) will prepare to take control of Gaza City while simultaneously providing humanitarian aid to civilian populations in areas outside combat zones.”
The Cabinet also adopted, by a majority vote, five principles for ending the war:
1. Disarming Hamas.
2. The return of all hostages – both living and deceased.
3. Demilitarization of the Gaza Strip.
4. Israeli security control over the Gaza Strip.
5. Establishment of an alternative civilian administration, which is neither Hamas nor the Palestinian Authority.
Arutz Sheva also reported that IDF Chief of Staff Eyal Zamir expressed concerns about the plan, stating, “The lives of the hostages will be at risk if we proceed with the plan to take over Gaza; there is no way to guarantee they won’t be harmed.” Many relatives of Israeli hostages have expressed similar concerns and there have been protests organized against the plan. Some relatives of Israeli hostages even organized flotillas to Gaza in order to protest against Hamas continuing to hold their loved ones, and Israel’s decision to occupy Gaza City at this time, which they believe endangers the hostages.
Interestingly, it was only after Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu decided to invade Gaza City that Germany declared an arms embargo on Israel “until further notice.” I24 News reported that the release of the Israeli hostages and a ceasefire are Germany’s top priorities, Merz said. Merz added Israel had “the right to defend itself against the terror of Hamas.” Nevertheless, that did not stop him from declaring a German arms embargo on Israel.
I24 News reported that this is a radical departure from standard German policy, which is generally pro-Israel. According to I24 News, military hardware supplied to Israel by Germany includes submarines and naval vessels, tank engines, shells, light and heavy weapons and more. Thus, a German arms embargo on Israel is a great success for the BDS Movement and a grave strategic loss for the State of Israel.
Photo from Avi Ohayon: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Benjamin_Netanyahu#/media/File:Benjamin_Netanyahu,_February_2023.jpg
