In a written statement to Anadolu Agency, the Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) stressed that Germany, as a state party to the Arms Trade Treaty, bears “additional obligations to assess the potential that arms exports could be used to commit or facilitate serious violations of international humanitarian and human rights law.”
Spokesperson Thameen Al-Kheetan underlined that international humanitarian law applies not only during active fighting but throughout ceasefires, and that human rights must be respected at all times. He reiterated that third states have a clear responsibility to ensure respect for international humanitarian law and to prevent their arms transfers from contributing to violations. Where there is doubt about how exported weapons might be used, the OHCHR urged states to adopt a precautionary approach, including by refraining from proceeding with transfers.
The German government had imposed restrictions on certain arms exports to Israel on August 8, 2025, citing the intensification of Israeli military operations in Gaza. On Monday, November 17, government spokesman Stefan Kornelius announced that those restrictions were “no longer valid due to changed circumstances” and would be formally lifted as of November 24. He pointed to the ceasefire that took effect on October 10—brokered with heavy U.S. involvement under President Donald Trump—as the primary reason for the reversal, describing the situation as having achieved “fundamental stabilization.”
The October ceasefire secured the release of the remaining 20 Israeli hostages held by Hamas in exchange for Palestinian prisoners and the return of bodies. It has been described by the German government as a turning point that justifies returning to case-by-case assessments of export applications rather than maintaining a blanket restriction on categories of weapons potentially usable in Gaza.
Israel welcomed the decision warmly. Foreign Minister Gideon Sa’ar publicly thanked Chancellor Friedrich Merz and called on other countries to follow Germany’s lead. Germany remains Israel’s second-largest arms supplier after the United States, providing critical components such as tank engines and naval systems. Between October 2023 and May 2025, Berlin approved approximately €485 million in military exports to Israel—a dramatic increase following Hamas’s October 7, 2023 attack.
Despite the ceasefire, reports from Gaza continue to document deadly incidents. Palestinian authorities recorded hundreds of alleged Israeli violations in the first month of the truce, including air strikes, artillery fire, and shootings that killed more than 240 people and wounded over 600. Humanitarian access remains severely restricted, with only a fraction of promised aid trucks entering the Strip. Winter rains have turned displacement camps into quagmires, and disease outbreaks are spreading rapidly amid collapsed healthcare infrastructure. The Palestinian death toll since October 2023 now exceeds 67,000, according to Gaza’s Health Ministry.
The UN intervention reflects broader concern that the ceasefire is fragile and incomplete. Progress toward the second phase—disarmament of Hamas and deployment of an international stabilization force—has stalled over disagreements on hostage remains, tunnel networks, and governance arrangements. Israeli forces maintain positions east of a designated “yellow line,” while Hamas retains control in western areas. Sporadic clashes and mutual accusations of violations continue.
Human rights organizations sharply criticized Germany’s decision. The European Center for Constitutional and Human Rights (ECCHR) argued that lifting restrictions contradicts both the Arms Trade Treaty and Germany’s obligations under the Genocide Convention, given what it describes as credible evidence of serious violations in Gaza. Activists in Hamburg staged a protest on November 17, chaining themselves to railway tracks used for military shipments in an attempt to block exports.
Public opinion in Germany leans heavily against resuming arms deliveries: recent polls show nearly three-quarters of respondents favor maintaining or strengthening restrictions. Opposition parties, particularly Die Linke and parts of the Greens, have demanded a complete and permanent halt, accusing the government of prioritizing geopolitical alliances over international law.
Other European countries have taken divergent paths. Spain imposed a total embargo last month, while Italy, Canada, the Netherlands, Belgium, and the United Kingdom continue to enforce partial restrictions. UN experts have repeatedly called on all states to suspend arms transfers where there is a clear risk they could be used to commit or facilitate serious violations.
For now, Berlin insists future export decisions will be evaluated individually, with close monitoring of developments on the ground and strict conditions tied to humanitarian access and ceasefire compliance. Whether those safeguards will satisfy international watchdogs—or withstand legal challenges already making their way through German courts—remains to be seen.
As Gaza heads into a harsh winter with reconstruction barely begun and political horizons still clouded, the resumption of German arms exports has reignited a fierce debate over responsibility, historical duty, and the practical enforcement of international humanitarian law in one of the world’s most intractable conflicts.
