Slovenia became the first EU country to ban all weapons trade with Israel, citing the ongoing humanitarian crisis in Gaza.
The government also prohibited the transit of weapons to or from Israel through Slovenia, the administration in Ljubljana said in a statement Thursday.
Slovenia said that it decided to act independently from the EU, as “due to internal disagreements and disunity,” the bloc is unable to take action against Israel. Though the European Commission proposed partially suspending Israel’s association agreement with the EU this week, member countries have yet to agree on it.
“People in Gaza are dying because humanitarian aid is being systematically blocked,” the government statement said. “In such circumstances, it is the duty of every responsible country to take action, even if this means taking a step ahead of others.”
The move is largely symbolic, as Slovenia has not issued any military export permits to Israel since October 2023. An anonymous Israeli official told Ynet, the largest Israeli news site, that the country “doesn’t buy a pin” from Slovenia.
Ljubljana has been among Israel’s toughest critics in Europe. It previously banned two Israeli far-right ministers from entering the country, in another EU first, and was followed by the Netherlands this week.
Israel has increasingly lost support in Europe, even from its allies, over struggles to get humanitarian aid to civilians amid its military assault on Gaza. France, Canada and the U.K. have pledged this week to recognize a Palestinian state and have all issued sharp condemnations of Israel.
Slovenia will prepare further measures against Israel in the coming weeks, the government said Thursday.
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