Research on German Arms Exports to Israel (-)

Key Chapter Title List

1. Introduction
2. Abstract
3. Sources
4. German Arms Exports to Israel
5. References
6. Contributors
7. About Forensis
8. Appendix A: The Connection Between the German Arms Industry and Israel
9. Appendix B: Arms Export Charts

Document Introduction

Following Israel's large-scale military offensive against Gaza in October 2023, the Palestinian region has descended into a severe humanitarian catastrophe. As of March 29, 2024, 32,623 Palestinians have been killed, 75,092 injured, and 1.7 million people are on the brink of man-made famine. Civilian infrastructure, including healthcare, education, and agriculture, has been systematically destroyed. The International Court of Justice (ICJ) has ruled that there is a "plausible risk of genocide" in Gaza, UN experts have explicitly called for an immediate halt to arms transfers to Israel, and several countries have suspended arms export licenses to Israel.

Against this backdrop, this report focuses on Germany, a major global arms exporter, and its long-term military cooperation with Israel. It systematically compiles core data and facts on German arms exports to Israel from 2003 to 2023. As Israel's second-largest supplier of conventional weapons, Germany accounted for 47% of Israel's total imports in 2023, covering critical equipment such as missile corvettes, tank engines, torpedoes, and anti-tank weapons. Furthermore, the value of export licenses approved in 2023 surged tenfold compared to 2022, reaching 326.5 million euros.

The report's data foundation is derived from authoritative sources including the German government's annual military equipment export reports, relevant European Council reports, the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI) Arms Transfers Database, the United Nations Comtrade Database, while also integrating parliamentary inquiry records, media reports, and empirical materials from civil society monitoring organizations. Through a multidimensional analysis of the quantity, value, category classification (according to the EU Common Military List ML classification standards), and actual delivery status of export licenses, the report reveals the long-term trends, structural characteristics of German arms exports to Israel, and the significant changes following the 2023 Gaza conflict.

Key findings include: From 2003 to 2023, Germany approved a total of 4,427 arms export licenses to Israel, with a total value of approximately 3.3 billion euros and an approval rate as high as 99.75%; Export licenses approved in the second half of 2023 accounted for 88% of the annual total, including combat equipment such as 3,000 portable anti-tank weapon systems and 500,000 rounds of ammunition; German-made equipment (such as Sa’ar 6-class corvettes, Merkava-4 tank engines, Heron TP drones) has been extensively used in the Gaza conflict, involving strikes on civilian facilities. Through rigorous data integration and fact-checking, the report provides a critical reference for assessing the humanitarian impact of the international arms trade and promoting related compliance discussions, responding to the international community's call to halt arms transfers to Israel.