Slovenia said Thursday that it will ban all weapons trade with Israel over the war in Gaza, in what it said is a first by an EU nation. Slovenia's government 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.
"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 Thursday.
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Foreign Minister Tanja Fajon during a meeting with then Foreign Minister Israel Katz in May 2024
(Photo: GPO)
It said it was moving ahead "independently" because the bloc was "unable to adopt concrete measures... due to internal disagreements and disunity." 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.
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an Israeli official said that "there were no security purchases in Slovenia. "We don't buy a pin from them. They simply decided on an embargo for the media, and because they can, but it has no significance."
Early in July, Slovenia -- also in an EU first -- banned two far-right Israeli ministers from entering the country. It declared both Itamar Ben-Gvir and Bezalel Smotrich "persona non grata", accusing them of inciting "extreme violence and serious violations of the human rights of Palestinians" with "their genocidal statements."