Slovenia has become the first European Union member state to halt all arms trade with Israel due to the ongoing war in Gaza.
The announcement comes just two weeks after Slovenia declared all Israeli ministers persona non grata, according to the state news agency STA.
The arms embargo was declared by Prime Minister Robert Golob following a government meeting on Thursday.
“Slovenia is the first European country to ban the import, export, and transit of arms to and from Israel,” the government stated.
The statement further emphasized that Slovenia was moving forward “with full freedom” as the EU remains “incapable of taking concrete measures due to internal divisions and fragmentation.”
Amid the devastating conflict in Gaza, where “people are dying because humanitarian aid is being consistently denied to them,” the government said it is “the duty of every responsible state to act, even if that means taking the first step ahead of others.”
According to officials, Slovenia has not issued any export licenses for arms or military equipment to Israel since October 2023, when the conflict escalated.
Earlier this July, Slovenia also became the first EU country to bar entry to all Israeli ministers.
In June 2024, the Slovenian parliament passed a decree recognizing Palestine as an independent state, joining Ireland, Norway, and Spain in doing so.
