Slovenia announced Thursday the total ban on arms trade with Israel, in response to the war in Gaza, thus becoming the first country of the European Union to take such a measure. This decision comes in a context of repeated criticism of the Slovenian government towards Israel’s actions in the conflict.
In a statement, the government said: “Slovenia is the first European country to prohibit importation, export and transit of arms to Israel. He justified this approach by the incapacity of the EU to adopt concrete measures due to internal disagreements. “Faced with the devastating war in Gaza, where civilians die for lack of systematically blocked humanitarian aid, each responsible state must act,” he added.
Since October 2023, no arms export permit to Israel has been issued by Slovenia due to the conflict. In July, the country also prohibited the entry to two Israeli ministers, accused of encouraging “extreme violence” and of making “genocidal” remarks. In June 2024, the Slovenian Parliament recognized the Palestinian state, following the example of Ireland, Norway and Spain, in a gesture of condemnation of Israeli bombing in Gaza after the attacks in Hamas on October 7, 2023.
