Slovenia bans arms trade with Israel over its actions in Gaza
Ljubljana (Slovenia), Aug 1 (AP): Slovenia has announced that it will ban the import, export and transit of all weapons to and from Israel in response to the country's actions in Gaza.
Slovenia, which often criticised Israel over reported atrocities in Gaza, called the ban, announced late Thursday, “the first such move by a European Union member state.”
Early in July, Slovenia banned two far-right Israeli ministers from entering the country, accusing them of inciting “extreme violence and serious violations of the human rights of Palestinians” with “their genocidal statements.”
In June 2024, Slovenia's parliament passed a decree recognising Palestinian statehood, following in the steps of Ireland, Norway and Spain.
Tiny Slovenia has almost no arms trade with Israel and the decision to ban weapons trade with Israel is mainly a diplomatic message meant to step up pressure as international outrage over Israel's conduct and images of starvation in Gaza grows.
Last year, UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer's government suspended exports of some weapons to Israel because they could be used to break international law. Spain says it halted arms sales to Israel in October 2023. The Netherlands has also cracked down on weapons trade with Israel, and there are court cases in France and Belgium around weapons trade with Israel, but none of the three has announced a blanket ban on all trade and transit similar to what Slovenia announced Friday.
Slovenian Prime Minister Robert Golob has said on multiple occasions that Slovenia would act unilaterally in the absence of concerted EU action, the state STA news agency reported.
“The EU is currently incapable of completing this task due to internal discord and disunity,” the government press release said.
“The result thereof is shameful: People in Gaza are dying because they are systematically denied humanitarian aid. They are dying under rubble, without access to drinking water, food and basic health care.”
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US VP JD Vance says Lebanon not part of ceasefire, calls it ‘misunderstanding’
Budapest/Washington: US Vice President J D Vance has said that Lebanon was never included in the ceasefire understanding with Iran, describing the confusion as a “legitimate misunderstanding”.
Speaking to reporters before departing from Hungary, Vance said, “I think the Iranians thought that the ceasefire included Lebanon and it just didn’t. We never made that promise.”
He stressed that the United States had not included Lebanon in the scope of the ceasefire at any stage.
His remarks come amid continued Israeli strikes in Lebanon, where more than 200 people were reported killed, even as ceasefire talks between Iran and the US move forward.
Vance said Israel had “offered … to check themselves a little bit in Lebanon because they want to make sure that our negotiation is successful”.
He warned that if Iran allows the situation in Lebanon to affect the negotiations, it could derail the talks.
“If Iran wants to let this negotiation fall apart in a conflict where they were getting hammered over Lebanon, which has nothing to do with them and which the United States never once said was part of the ceasefire, that’s ultimately their choice,” he said.
