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Slovenia becomes first in Europe to ban Israel weapons trade

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Banglapress Published: 23 September 2025, 10:25 AM
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Slovenia becomes first in Europe to ban Israel weapons trade
    Bangla Press Desk: Slovenia said Thursday that it will ban all weapons trade with Israel over the war in Gaza, in what it said is a first arms embargo on Israel by a European nation. 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. 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.
It said it was moving ahead "independently" because the bloc was "unable to adopt concrete measures... due to internal disagreements and disunity". Amid the devastating war in Gaza, where "people... are dying because humanitarian aid is systematically denied them", it was the "duty of every responsible state to take action, even if it means taking a step ahead of others", the statement said. Last year, UK 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 has announced a blanket ban on all trade and transit similar to what Slovenia announced Friday.
Early in July, Slovenia -- also in a EU first -- banned two far-right Israeli ministers from entering the country. It declared both Israelis "persona non grata", 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, in moves partly fuelled by condemnation of Israel's bombing of Gaza after the 7 October 2023 Hamas attacks on Israel. This article was originally published on Daily Sun. [Bangla Press is a global platform for free thought. It provides impartial news, analysis, and commentary for independent-minded individuals. Our goal is to bring about positive change, which is more important today than ever before.]
BP/ZE
[Bangla Press is a global platform for free thought. It provides impartial news, analysis, and commentary for independent-minded individuals. Our goal is to bring about positive change, which is more important today than ever before.]

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