BERLIN (Reuters) – German defence export approvals to Israel so far this year have risen nearly tenfold from last year, with Berlin treating permit requests as a priority since Hamas militants attacked Israel last month, a German government source said on Wednesday.
As of Nov. 2, the German government has approved the export of close to 303 million euros’ ($323 million) worth of defence equipment to Israel. By comparison, 32 million euros’ worth of defence exports were approved in all of 2022.
The majority of individual export permits – 185 out of 218 – were granted after the Oct. 7 attack on Israel.
“Following the terrorist attack by Hamas on Israel, applications for the export of military equipment to Israel are being prioritised and approved by the federal government,” said the source.
Even with the increase, Israel accounts for a minor share of Germany’s military exports, which totalled 8.76 billion euros in the first nine months of 2023.
Germany primarily supplies Israel with components for air defence systems and communications equipment, according to the German press agency dpa, which first reported on the figures.
($1 = 0.9376 euros)
(Reporting by Ferenc Gaal; Editing by Miranda Murray and Peter Graff)
