BERLIN: Human rights lawyers filed a lawsuit against a German government decision to approve the export of 3,000 anti-tank weapons to Israel, the second case of its kind this month filed over Berlin’s support of Israel.

Last week, Berlin lawyers said they had filed an urgent appeal to halt exports of weapons to Israel, citing reasons to believe they were being used in ways that could violate international humanitarian law in the Gaza Strip.

The latest case, brought by five Palestinians from Gaza, was supported by lawyers from the European Center for Constitutional and Human Rights (ECCHR) in Berlin and Palestinian human rights organizations, ECCHR said in a statement.

The ECCHR said the government granted export clearance for 3,000 anti-tank weapons to Israel after the Hamas attack on Oct. 7, but an export permit application for 10,000 rounds of ammunition to Israel had yet to be approved.

“Germany cannot remain true to its values if it exports weapons to a war in which serious violations of international humanitarian law are obvious,” ECCHR Secretary General Wolfgang Kaleck said in a statement. The lawyers called on the Berlin administrative court to suspend the export licenses as a provisional legal protection measure.

The economy ministry, responsible for arms export permits, confirmed litigation with respect to weapons for Israel was before the court but declined to comment on an ongoing case.

Published in Dawn, April 13th, 2024