New Slovene Government Revokes Sanctions Against Israel

Janez Janša’s government has revoked the decisions that formed the basis for imposing sanctions against Israel, and also canceled the decree prohibiting the export and transit of weapons and military equipment from Slovenia, or through it, to Israel, and imports from Israel to Slovenia, the foreign and defense ministries announced after the cabinet meeting. This was reported by Israel Hayom.

The sanctions against Israel were imposed by the previous government of Robert Golob, on the grounds of violations of international and humanitarian law and harm to the human rights of Palestinians in Gaza and Judea and Samaria. The Foreign Ministry said the sanctions against Israel were never actually implemented. The ministry said that the conditions for proper political dialogue with the country have now been restored. "Through political dialogue and quiet diplomacy, it will be possible to strengthen the role of the Republic of Slovenia in efforts to achieve sustainable peace in the Middle East."

According to the ministry, expanding bilateral cooperation will create additional opportunities for joint work with Israel in areas of mutual interest, such as innovation, digital technologies, artificial intelligence, cyber, water management, sustainable agriculture, health, science, defense and rescue, and economic cooperation. The Slovenian Defense Ministry said the government also canceled the decision prohibiting the export and transit of weapons and military equipment from Slovenia, or through it, to Israel, and imports from Israel to Slovenia. It should be noted that equipment needed by the Republic of Slovenia in the fields of security and national resilience was initially exempted from the arms embargo on imports from Israel.