Slovenia said it will ban all weapons trade with Israel over the war in Gaza in what it said was a first by a European Union nation.
“Slovenia is the first European country to ban the import, export and transit of weapons to and from Israel,” the government said in a statement late on July 31.
However, in response, an unnamed Israeli official told Israeli news outlet Ynet: “There is no defence procurement in Slovenia. We don’t buy so much as a pin from them.
“They simply decided on an embargo for the sake of the media, because they can, but it’s completely meaningless.”
The Slovenian Government, led by its President Nataša Pirc Musar, has frequently criticised Israel over the conflict and last year moved to recognise a Palestinian State as part of efforts to end the fighting in Gaza as soon as possible, AFP reported.
It said it was moving ahead “independently” because the EU was “unable to adopt concrete measures … due to internal disagreements and disunity”.
Amid the devastating war in Gaza, where “people … are dying because humanitarian aid is systematically denied them”, it was the “duty of every responsible state to take action, even if it means taking a step ahead of others”, the statement said.
It added that the government had not issued any permits for the export of military weapons and equipment to Israel since October 2023 because of the conflict.
The Slovenian announcement came after its government barred entry to minister Bezalel Smotrich and minister Itamar Ben Gvir on July 19, becoming the first EU country to do that.
The government labelled the ministers persona non grata, accusing them of inciting “extreme violence and serious violations of the human rights of Palestinians” and referring to their remarks as “genocidal statements”, the Times of Israel reported.
On July 22, UK foreign secretary David Lammy condemned Israel’s conduct in Gaza and said that Britain could “do more in the coming weeks” if the Israeli Government did not change how it was pursuing the war in the strip, according to the BBC.
He expressed anger that the “international community has not been able to bring this war to an end” and said he was “sickened” by the killings of Palestinians at aid centres by Israeli forces in recent days.
