Peace in Gaza through pressure on Israel – former state officials call for arms export ban

Despite diplomatic efforts, the death toll in Gaza continues unabated. The Israeli army shelled the Bureij refugee camp on Thursday, killing at least 55 civilians.

Former heads of government and high-ranking officials have sharply criticized Israel's actions. Former Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert accused his country's government of committing war crimes in the Gaza Strip while lacking a strategy to end the war. In recent days, leading Israeli cabinet members have called for starving the coastal strip. "What is this if not a war crime?" Olmert told the US broadcaster CNN.

US presents ceasefire plan

The government of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has caused "significant damage" to the integrity of the State of Israel and the Israeli people through the Gaza war. Furthermore, the political leadership lacks a vision for the future to end the war and free the hostages still held in the Gaza Strip.

Meanwhile, a new proposal to end the Israeli military offensive in the Gaza Strip has been put forward from the United States . US Special Envoy Steve Witkoff outlined a new plan for a 60-day ceasefire on Thursday. According to several media reports, ten Israeli hostages held in the Gaza Strip would be released in two stages within a week. In addition, the bodies of 18 abducted people would be handed over.

In return, 125 Palestinians sentenced to life imprisonment and 1,111 Gaza residents arrested since October 7, 2023, were to be released. In addition, the bodies of 180 Palestinians were to be handed over.

According to reports, talks on ending the Gaza war will be held during the two-month ceasefire. In the event of an agreement between Israel and Hamas, the remaining hostages and the remains of those abducted will be handed over.

Former high-ranking officials call for a ban on arms exports

The proposal also calls for the United Nations and international aid organizations to resume the delivery of aid to the Gaza Strip. The Israeli army is to withdraw to the positions it held prior to the start of the most recent offensive in March.

Numerous high-ranking officials in the US and Europe have resigned in protest over their governments' support of the Israeli military operation in the Gaza Strip. Josh Paul was responsible for US arms deliveries at the US State Department. He resigned on October 17, 2024, in protest against the Biden administration, "because I do not believe that weapons supplied by the US should be used to kill civilians," as he explained in an interview with the Berliner Zeitung at the time . Now Paul, together with the German former EU Palestine representative Sven Kühn von Burgsdorff, the political scientist Mitchel Plitnick and the Middle East expert Mouin Rabbani, have presented an analysis of how an end to the Israeli military offensive can be achieved.

An important step in this direction would be for the EU member states to terminate the Association Agreement with Israel. The Netherlands has initiated a formal review of Israel's compliance with its human rights obligations under the Association Agreement. The Dutch proposal was adopted in mid-May 2025 by a majority of EU foreign ministers, with the support of 17 member states, including Ireland and Spain.

"This agreement is of enormous importance for Israel. The EU is Israel's largest trading partner, accounting for 28.8 percent of Israel's total exports and 34.2 percent of its imports," the analysis states. In contrast, exports to Israel in 2024 would only account for 0.7 percent of the EU's total exports to countries outside the EU (extra-EU exports). "This asymmetry gives the EU considerable leverage in trade negotiations," it continues.

In addition, several governments continue to supply lethal weapons to Israel and exchange intelligence, which constitutes a direct violation of international legal obligations. Public awareness must be raised that an export ban on F-35 fighter jets and their components is being enforced, particularly by the United States, Great Britain, Italy, the Netherlands, and companies in Canada and Australia.

Israel's Foreign Minister in Berlin next week

Germany is Israel's second-largest arms supplier after the USA, accounting for 30 percent of total arms imports. On Wednesday, Chancellor Friedrich Merz publicly criticized the Israeli military operation in the Gaza Strip for the first time. Even though voices within the Social Democratic Party (SPD) are growing louder calling for restrictions on arms exports to Israel, the German government has not yet taken any steps to end the Israeli military operation in Gaza. On the contrary, just a few weeks ago, Merz declared that he would welcome Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, against whom an arrest warrant from the International Criminal Court for war crimes has been issued, in Germany.

On Thursday, German Foreign Minister Johann Wadephul announced that he would receive Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Saar in Berlin next week. "We are continuing the friendly, but (...) critical dialogue with the Israeli government," Wadephul said during a visit to Washington. Wadephul said criticism of the Israeli government was necessary because the situation of the civilian population in the Gaza Strip "has become more precarious in recent days, dramatically more precarious."