Slovenia becomes first EU member state to ban weapons trade with Israel

Slovenia said Thursday that it will ban all weapons trade with Israel over the war on Gaza, in what it said is a first by an EU nation.

Slovenia's government has frequently criticised Israel over its war, 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 on 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.

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 war.

Early in July, Slovenia, also in an 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.