Which States Are Restricting Weapons’ Sales to Israel?

Several Western countries and companies have restricted the sale of raw materials to Israel that can be converted to ammunition amid Tel Aviv’s deadly offensive on the Gaza Strip, according to Israeli media on Tuesday as reported by Anadolu

Weapons suppliers from European countries “have simply stopped responding to their Israeli counterparts,” Israeli financial newspaper Calcalist said.

It said Italy, Canada and Belgium have announced a halt to defense exports to Israel. Spain also prevented a ship carrying a weapons shipment from India to Israel from docking at its ports stated the Turkish news agency.

Some other countries, including Serbia, however, continue to provide an airlift of military supplies to Israel.

The halt of supplies of raw materials to Israel has raised concerns in the Israeli Defense Ministry and army about the possibility of an ammunition shortage.

Looking for alternatives, the Israeli defense establishment has begun to promote “the advancement of the local industry and reducing reliance on imported shells and ammunition from foreign countries,” the newspaper said.

This option, however, is not sufficient as the ammunition produced in Israel is more expensive than that can be imported from abroad.

Israel, flouting a UN Security Council resolution demanding an immediate cease-fire, has faced international condemnation amid its continued brutal offensive on Gaza since an Oct. 7, 2023 attack by Palestinian group Hamas according to anadolu.

Nine months into the Israeli war, vast tracts of Gaza lie in ruins amid a crippling blockade of food, clean water and medicine.

Israel stands accused of genocide at the International Court of Justice, whose latest ruling ordered Tel Aviv to immediately halt its military operation in the southern city of Rafah, where over a million Palestinians had sought refuge from the war before it was invaded on May 6.

CrossFireArabia

CrossFireArabia

Dr. Marwan Asmar holds a PhD from Leeds University and is a freelance writer specializing on the Middle East. He has worked as a journalist since the early 1990s in Jordan and the Gulf countries, and been widely published, including at Albawaba, Gulf News, Al Ghad, World Press Review and others.

Related Posts

Trump Slams Door on Netanyahu

Israeli Army Radio has reported that personalities close to US President Donald Trump informed the Israeli Strategic Affairs Minister, Ron Dermer, that the US president had decided to cut off contact with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.

The Army Radio explained that these acquaintances close to Trump informed Dermer that Netanyahu was manipulating the US president, stressing that what Trump hates most is being perceived as being manipulated.

The radio quoted an Israeli official as saying that Minister Dermer’s conversation with senior Republican officials, did not work because of his displayed arrogance.

This came hours after a report in the Israel Hayom newspaper asserting that the US president is “disappointed” with Netanyahu and intends to take “steps” in the Middle East “without waiting for him.”

Since the start of his new presidential term on January 20, 2025, Trump has offered diverse and unlimited support to the Netanyahu government, which has been waging a genocidal war against the Palestinians in the Gaza Strip since October 7, 2023.

However, the Israel Hayom daily quoted an unnamed sources as saying that “there is a decline in the personal relations and mutual disappointment between Netanyahu and Trump.”

The newspaper added that two senior sources close to Trump said, in closed conversations in recent days, that he has decided not to wait for Israel any longer and is moving forward with steps in the Middle East without “waiting for Netanyahu.”

The sources did not elaborate on the nature of the steps Trump intends to take unilaterally, but there is a complaint in Tel Aviv that Trump sometimes acts without coordination with Israel.

The most recent example is the ceasefire agreement reached by the United States and the Yemeni Houthi group, which does not include Israel and which Israel was unaware of before its announcement according to Al Jazeera.

Continue reading
Hamas Welcomes New Pope in Rome

Hamas congratulated Cardinal Robert Prevost on Thursday for being elected the new pope, urging him to follow in the footsteps of Pope Francis, who was a strong advocate for the Palestinian cause and condemned Israel’s genocide in Gaza.

Prevost, who will be known as Pope Leo XIV, was elected as the new pope by the Cardinals in a two-day conclave and will be the first American pontiff in history.

Hamas said in a statement it “extends its sincere congratulations to His Holiness Pope Leo XIV on the occasion of his election as Head of the Catholic Church.”

“We wish him success in fulfilling his spiritual and humanitarian mission at a time when the world faces profound crises and tragedies—chief among them, the ongoing brutal Israeli aggression against the Palestinian people in the Gaza Strip.”

“We highly value the principled and courageous humanitarian positions taken by the late Pope Francis, including his repeated expressions of solidarity with the Palestinian people and his firm stance against the occupation and its repressive policies.”

“We look forward to His Holiness Pope Leo XIV continuing this ethical and moral path—standing with the oppressed, advocating for justice, and engaging actively within international forums to help end the crime of genocide and ethnic cleansing being perpetrated by the Israeli occupation against children, women, and unarmed civilians in Gaza.”

“We also call for action to halt the ongoing violations against Islamic and Christian holy sites throughout Palestine, and reaffirm the importance of upholding human dignity and religious sanctity everywhere.”

Pope Francis was a staunch advocate for Palestinians and kept in regular contact with Catholics in Gaza amid Israel’s assault. That included daily calls with the priest at the Holy Family Church in Gaza City, the only Catholic church in the Palestinian enclave.

Upon his death, Francis also donated his so-called “popemobile” to Gaza to serve as a mobile children’s clinic.
Pope Leo XIV has not said much publicly about Gaza, making it unclear if he will emulate his predecessor according to the Quds News Network.

Continue reading

You Missed

Horrors of Starvation – USA Today

Horrors of Starvation – USA Today

Israel is Burning: Here’s Why!

Israel is Burning: Here’s Why!

Trump Slams Door on Netanyahu

Trump Slams Door on Netanyahu

Ottoman Painting Fetches $1.3 Million in London

Ottoman Painting Fetches $1.3 Million in London