Court rejects Gazan challenges of German arms exports to Israel

A Berlin court on Wednesday rejected lawsuits filed by several Palestinians from the Gaza Strip seeking to block German arms exports to Israel.

The plaintiffs had argued that current German export authorizations violated Germany’s obligations under international law.

The Berlin Administrative Court rejected the complaints on procedural grounds challenging the German federal government’s licensing practice.

The court had to rule on two different requests.

In one case, the plaintiff argued that Germany’s authorization procedure violated its obligations under international law. This preventive legal protection could only be granted if it was foreseeable that Germany would act in exactly the same way again, explained the president of the court, Stephan Groscuth.

In the second case, four Palestinians living in the Gaza Strip – another plaintiff has since died in an attack – challenged a license to export 3,000 portable anti-tank weapons. They wanted it to then be labeled illegal. According to the court, this was only possible if there was a risk that the German government would act again in the same way and under the same conditions as in autumn 2023.

The plaintiffs had previously attempted to block the arms export through interim legal proceedings, but their efforts were unsuccessful.

The case was heard by Berlin’s administrative court because the German federal government, which approves arms exports, is based in the city.

One of the original seven plaintiffs, an experienced doctor who spent time in the Gaza Strip, appeared in person at the hearing, where he gave a moving account of events in the Palestinian territory.

As a doctor on the ground, he said he witnessed injuries and saw the destruction caused by German-made weapons. The man, who became a German citizen in 2014, said he had fought for the lives of people there “regardless of their skin color, origin, religion or ethnicity”.

“I expect the same from others,” he added.

The 41-year-old doctor, who has lived in Berlin for more than 20 years, first filed a lawsuit against Germany with his father, who lives in the Gaza Strip.

However, the man withdrew his complaint after Judge Groscurth explained that it would not succeed because he had lived in Germany for a very long time.

One of the lawyers representing the other five plaintiffs described the living conditions of his clients, one of whom died in July in an attack in the Gaza Strip. The rest live in refugee camps and all lost several relatives during the war, lawyer Remo Klinger said.

German arms exports to Israel have been a topic of debate for months. After the attacks carried out by Hamas against Israel on October 7, 2023, Germany significantly increased its arms deliveries to Israel.

In August 2025, amid concerns over escalating Israeli military actions, Chancellor Friedrich Merz temporarily suspended approval of military equipment that could be used in the Gaza conflict.

In September, the German government authorized arms deliveries to Israel worth at least 2.46 million euros, according to the Economy Ministry.

In comparison, between January 1 and August 8, 2025, export licenses for Israel amounted to approximately 250 million euros ($290 million).

A ceasefire has been in effect in the Gaza war since October 10, but several fighting has since broken out, killing three Israeli soldiers and more than 240 Gaza Strip residents.