Germany's Baerbock Says Arms Exports to Israel Pose 'Dilemma' amid Risks to International Law

In this photo released by the Lebanese Parliament media office, German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock, left, speaks with Lebanese Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri in Beirut, Lebanon, Wednesday, Oct. 23, 2024. (Hassan Ibrahim, Lebanese Parliament media office via AP)
In this photo released by the Lebanese Parliament media office, German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock, left, speaks with Lebanese Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri in Beirut, Lebanon, Wednesday, Oct. 23, 2024. (Hassan Ibrahim, Lebanese Parliament media office via AP)
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Germany's Baerbock Says Arms Exports to Israel Pose 'Dilemma' amid Risks to International Law

In this photo released by the Lebanese Parliament media office, German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock, left, speaks with Lebanese Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri in Beirut, Lebanon, Wednesday, Oct. 23, 2024. (Hassan Ibrahim, Lebanese Parliament media office via AP)
In this photo released by the Lebanese Parliament media office, German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock, left, speaks with Lebanese Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri in Beirut, Lebanon, Wednesday, Oct. 23, 2024. (Hassan Ibrahim, Lebanese Parliament media office via AP)

Germany's foreign minister said on Wednesday Israel has the right to defend itself against Hezbollah attacks but supplying it with weapons had posed "a dilemma" amid concerns over international law violations.
Annalena Baerbock spoke after arriving in Lebanon for talks on how to defuse escalating Israel-Hezbollah hostilities, five days after the UN said its peacekeepers had been targeted by Israeli forces in south Lebanon's conflict zone.
"On the one hand, Israel is attacked every day and not supporting it would mean that people are not (being) protected ... On the other, it is also Germany's responsibility to stand up for international humanitarian law," Baerbock said.
She made no indication that Germany was reconsidering its longtime policy of supplying arms to Israel. Chancellor Olaf Scholz last week said Germany, one of Israel's staunchest Western allies, would continue to provide such military aid.
Baerbock said Israel had the right to defend itself against Lebanon's powerful Iran-backed militant group Hezbollah but also a responsibility to ensure it adheres to international humanitarian law.
Baerbock spoke to journalists in Beirut after meeting Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri, a close ally of Hezbollah who has been engaging in diplomatic efforts to end the conflict.
The UN mission in Lebanon said last week its outposts near Lebanon's border with Israel had come under several "deliberate" Israeli attacks and that efforts to help civilians in villages in the war zone were being hampered by Israeli shelling.
"Any deliberate attack on UN peacekeepers violates humanitarian law," said Baerbock.
Israel says UN forces in south Lebanon have effectively provided a human shield for Hezbollah fighters and has told UNIFIL to evacuate peacekeepers for their own safety - a request that it has refused.
Baerbock said the key to achieving peace is the full implementation of the 18-year-old UN Resolution 1701, which entails a Hezbollah withdrawal behind Lebanon's Litani River and Israeli forces back from the "Blue Line" demarcating the border.
The United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL) has a crucial role in maintaining stability in the region, and all parties involved must protect UNIFIL soldiers, she added.
Baerbock was set to have a video conference with UNIFIL Commanding General Aroldo Lazaro Saenz later in the afternoon.
"Our common message to the people of Lebanon is that we will not look away, we will not leave them alone," Baerbock said.
"We are working on a diplomatic solution that respects the security interests of both Israel and Lebanon," she added.
Germany's DPA news agency said Berlin approved arms exports to Israel worth around 31 million euros ($34 million) over the past eight weeks, more than twice as much as in the first 7-1/2 months of this year.



EU Preparing to Appoint Envoy to Syria to Address Migration Crisis

Lebanese caretaker Prime Minister Najib Mikati and his Italian counterpart Giorgia Meloni hold a joint press conference in Beirut. (Reuters)
Lebanese caretaker Prime Minister Najib Mikati and his Italian counterpart Giorgia Meloni hold a joint press conference in Beirut. (Reuters)
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EU Preparing to Appoint Envoy to Syria to Address Migration Crisis

Lebanese caretaker Prime Minister Najib Mikati and his Italian counterpart Giorgia Meloni hold a joint press conference in Beirut. (Reuters)
Lebanese caretaker Prime Minister Najib Mikati and his Italian counterpart Giorgia Meloni hold a joint press conference in Beirut. (Reuters)

The European Union is preparing to appoint a special envoy to Syria, with officials from the Commission and the External Relations Department emphasizing that this move is not intended to “normalize relations with the regime” but rather to address the escalating migration crisis, which is expected to become increasingly complex after recent developments in Lebanon.

Lebanon has seen nearly a quarter of its population displaced, with many of their homes destroyed in border villages and parts of Beirut due to Israeli attacks.

Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni, in coordination with her Austrian counterpart, has been active in recent months, pushing the EU toward normalizing relations with Syria to facilitate the return of refugees.

However, some member states, led by France, have strongly opposed this approach, ultimately agreeing—after extensive negotiations within the European Council—to appoint a special envoy whose mandate is limited to addressing the refugee crisis.

The issue of refugees and displaced persons was central to Meloni’s recent discussions during her regional visit, with Beirut as her final stop. There, Lebanese caretaker Prime Minister Najib Mikati urged her to intervene to help resolve the crisis, which poses significant challenges as winter approaches.

In July, Italy, currently holding the G7 presidency, decided to appoint an envoy to Damascus to “shed light” on Syria, as Italian Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani put it.

Italy had withdrawn all its diplomatic staff from Damascus in 2012 and suspended its diplomatic activities in Syria in protest against the “unacceptable violence” by Bashar al-Assad’s regime against its citizens, who were holding peaceful rallies against his rule.

Earlier this summer, Italy and seven other EU countries sent a letter to EU High Representative for Foreign Affairs Josep Borrell, urging a more active European role in Syria to help return a number of Syrian refugees from EU countries, particularly Austria, Slovenia, and Croatia.

The signatories called for an end to the EU’s “three no’s” policy: no lifting of sanctions, no normalization, and no reconstruction under the current regime, emphasizing that peace in Syria is impossible as long as the current government remains in power.

Reports from the EU Migration Department indicate that Syrians continue to leave their country in significant numbers due to worsening economic conditions. Many Syrian refugees in Lebanon are also joining irregular migration routes to Europe, as living conditions have deteriorated in Lebanon in recent years. Italy, Austria, Cyprus, the Czech Republic, Greece, Croatia, Slovenia, and Slovakia signed the letter.

Most of these countries have recently reopened their embassies in Damascus, with Italy the only G7 nation, to resume diplomatic activities in the Syrian capital.

Italian sources have expressed concerns that Israel’s war on Lebanon could spill over into Syria or expand regionally, potentially triggering another large-scale migration crisis that the EU may not be prepared to handle under current conditions.

However, the new European policy, spearheaded by Italy amid the ongoing regional shifts, aims for a broader objective: enhancing the EU’s presence in Syria to compete with Russia, contain the Iranian regime, which has recently faced significant setbacks, and counter Türkiye's expanding influence.

Syria has been under sanctions from the United States, the EU, and several other countries since 2011.