Chancellor Friedrich Merz’s decision to freeze weapons exports to Israel over Gaza has fractured his party, outraged Jewish leaders, and drawn sharp rebukes from Jerusalem.
Germany’s shock move to halt arms exports to Israel that could be used in Gaza has ignited a political firestorm at home and triggered an angry response from Jerusalem. The decision, announced on August 8 by Chancellor Friedrich Merz, marks a rare rupture in Berlin’s decades-long pro-Israel policy—and the fallout is escalating fast.
The Christian Social Union (CSU), the Bavarian sister party to Merz’s Christian Democratic Union, blasted the policy shift, revealing it was never consulted. Alexander Hoffman, head of the CSU’s Bundestag faction, called the move “a departure from decades of foreign policy continuity toward Israel” and vowed it would be debated within the coalition.
CSU lawmaker Stephan Pilsinger warned the embargo could even undermine Germany’s own safety. “Currently, we feel like we benefit more from Israel in terms of security policy than Israel benefits from us,” he told the Augsburger Allgemeine.
Merz defended his stance, insisting the embargo will remain “until further notice” in light of Israel’s intensified Gaza campaign. He argued Israel “bears an even greater responsibility for ensuring the population’s needs are met” amid the conflict with Hamas.
The diplomatic backlash was swift. Israeli Ambassador to Germany Ron Prosor called the decision “a celebration for Hamas”. Josef Schuster, president of the Central Council of Jews in Germany, said the policy “contradicts Berlin’s past commitments to Israel” and warned that depriving Israel of defensive capabilities “endangers its existence”.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu personally confronted Merz in a call, expressing deep disappointment. In a strongly worded statement, Netanyahu’s office accused Berlin of “rewarding Hamas terrorism” instead of backing Israel’s “just war against Hamas, which carried out the most horrific attack against the Jewish people since the Holocaust.”
Netanyahu reiterated Israel’s war aim: not to occupy Gaza, but to dismantle Hamas and enable a peaceful civilian government to take root. But with Berlin’s once rock-solid support wavering, a significant crack has emerged in Europe’s political shield for Israel—one that Hamas is likely celebrating.
