Germany stops arms exports to Israel, Merz’s party pushes back
Friedrich Merz (Photo: Getty Images)
On Friday, German Chancellor Friedrich Merz announced that the country is stopping arms exports to Israel. As a result, dissatisfaction with the Chancellor’s decision is growing within the CDU/CSU bloc, according to Welt.
It should be noted that the reason for halting exports was Israel’s plans to take control of the entire Gaza Strip.
For this reason, CSU honorary chairman Horst Seehofer publicly criticized Merz’s decision, calling the suspension of arms exports to Israel a foreign policy mistake.
Additionally, Munich CSU parliament member Stefan Pilsinger also criticized the German Chancellor.
“I don’t understand what is meant by: ‘No weapons that could be used in the Gaza Strip.’ De facto, this means that we will hardly be able to supply weapons at all,” he said.
Furthermore, today, Sunday, August 10, foreign policy representatives from the CDU and CSU plan to hold a video conference to discuss current international events. The discussion will also include Merz’s foreign policy advisor, Günter Sautter.
Although such consultations are a usual format, holding the meeting during the peak of the summer holiday season highlights the need for dialogue within the CDU/CSU bloc.
On Friday, German Chancellor Friedrich Merz announced that the government is suspending arms exports to Israel. According to him, the decision was made in response to Israel’s announced plan to take control of the Gaza Strip.
