60% Germans "opposed to Israeli arms aid"

More than half of German citizens oppose arms aid to Israel, contrary to their government's position, according to a survey.

In a survey by pollster Forza from the 17th to the 18th, 60% of respondents said they were opposed to Israeli arms aid.

Only 31% of the respondents said they were in favor of it.

Local media pointed out that the German government, contrary to such public sentiment, is effectively fully supporting Israel's military operations against pro-Iranian militants such as Hezbollah.

Germany has effectively cut its arms export license to Israel since March this year as civilian casualties in the Palestinian Gaza Strip have soared.

Then, the Israeli government resumed export licenses at the end of August after receiving a written promise not to use German weapons to violate international humanitarian law.

Germany, the world's fifth-largest arms exporter, puts forward the principle of considering international humanitarian law and the human rights situation of the target country when examining whether to export.

However, when it became known that they had received a written promise from Israel, it was argued that the fact that they demanded it was an insult to Israel.

Most German politicians demand unconditional support, saying Israel's national security is the reason for Germany's existence, in line with the historical responsibility of the Nazi massacre of Jews.

Aidan 외zouz, vice chairman of the federal parliament, a member of the ruling Social Democratic Party (SPD), was heavily saturated after posting a poster on Instagram criticizing Zionism (Semitic nationalism) amid a recent controversy over Israel's arms exports.

The poster, created by the U.S. liberal Jewish group Jewish Voice for Peace, had a photo of the building engulfed in flames and the words "This is Zionism."

The criticism has not subsided in the apology of Vice-Chairman Ojouz.

The opposition demanded that he resign immediately.

Even the chairman of the federal parliament, Berbel Bas, a member of the same party, criticized "posts that are clearly against Zionism are prohibited."

The progressive daily Taz pointed out that Vice-Chairman Ozouz is often suspected because he is from an Turkiye family, saying, "It is a German-style debate that is angry at one wrong word (sionism) rather than the Israeli military's war crimes."