By Palestine Chronicle Staff  

“We have delivered weapons and will continue to deliver weapons.”

The German government will ensure the delivery of more weapons to Israel, Chancellor Olaf Scholz has said.

Addressing the parliament during discussions on Thursday to mark the first anniversary of  October 7, Scholz said: “We in the government have made decisions that will ensure the delivery of more weapons soon.”

“We have supplied weapons, and we will supply weapons. That is the attitude of the German government.” — German Chancellor Olaf Scholz once again summarizes the sophisticated German policy in relation to the genocide in Gaza. pic.twitter.com/4oxbiQ1I1R

— red. (@redstreamnet) October 10, 2024

“We have not decided to cease arms deliveries,” Scholz added, addressing claims from the opposition that the government paused weapons shipments to Tel Aviv for months, causing a “breach in German solidarity” with Israel.

The German chancellor further stated, “We have not decided not to supply weapons.  We have delivered weapons and will continue to deliver weapons,” without specifying their type, quantity, or intended purpose.

“That is the attitude of the German government,” he added.

Export Approvals

After the US, Germany is the biggest supplier of weapons to Israel.

The leader of the opposition, Friedrich Merz, accused the government of refusing export licences for ammunition or spare parts for tanks “for weeks and months.”

‘No Moratorium’ – Germany Denies Halting Arms Export to Israel

Germany approved arms exports to Israel worth €326 million ($354 million) in 2023, ten times more than in 2022.

However, approvals dropped to around €10 million in the first quarter of this year, according to Economy Ministry data.

Last month, the German government denied any halt of weapons to Israel after reports circulated that it stopped arms export authorization to Tel Aviv, Euro News reported.

“There is no moratorium on arms exports to Israel, and there will be no moratorium,” a spokesman for the German Ministry of Economic Affairs was quoted by Israel’s Haaretz newspaper as saying.

Ongoing Genocide

Flouting a UN Security Council resolution demanding an immediate ceasefire, Israel has faced international condemnation amid its continued brutal offensive on Gaza.

Currently on trial before the International Court of Justice for genocide against Palestinians, Israel has been waging a devastating war on Gaza since October 7.

Arms Supply to Israel: Legal Action Urged Against Germany

According to Gaza’s Ministry of Health,  42,126 Palestinians have been killed, and 98,117 wounded in Israel’s ongoing genocide in Gaza starting on October 7, 2023.

Moreover, at least 11,000 people are unaccounted for, presumed dead under the rubble of their homes throughout the Strip.

Israel says that 1,200 soldiers and civilians were killed during the Al-Aqsa Flood Operation on October 7. Israeli media published reports suggesting that many Israelis were killed on that day by ‘friendly fire’.

Palestinian and international organizations say that the majority of those killed and wounded are women and children.

Famine and Displacement

The Israeli war has resulted in an acute famine, mostly in northern Gaza, resulting in the death of many Palestinians, mostly children.

The Israeli aggression has also resulted in the forceful displacement of nearly two million people from all over the Gaza Strip, with the vast majority of the displaced forced into the densely crowded southern city of Rafah near the border with Egypt – in what has become Palestine’s largest mass exodus since the 1948 Nakba.

Later in the war, hundreds of thousands of Palestinians began moving from the south to central Gaza in a constant search for safety.

(PC, MEMO)