The Danish Parliament currently lacks sufficient political support to pass a motion halting all direct and indirect arms trade with Israel, including cooperation on the F-35 fighter jet program.

This became evident after several parties, including the government, Denmark Democrats, Liberal Alliance, SF, Conservatives, and the Danish People’s Party, declared their opposition to the proposal on Tuesday.

While the Unity List and the Alternative support the motion, the Social Liberals are “positively inclined,” according to their political leader, Martin Lidegaard.

The motion arose from a citizen proposal that quickly gained 50,000 signatures, thus requiring parliamentary consideration.

Foreign Minister Lars Løkke Rasmussen explained the government’s position, stating that the Ministry of Foreign Affairs has already tightened its approach to arms exports to Israel and maintains a very restrictive policy.

He further noted that Denmark’s export control approach, including its involvement in the F-35 program, aligns with its EU legal and international obligations. This also applies to the handling of American-owned F-35 spare parts.

Rasmussen also mentioned that the Ministry of Defence has determined there is no basis for excluding Israeli suppliers in future weapons acquisitions.

Furthermore, the Foreign Minister emphasized that no other countries have withdrawn from the F-35 cooperation.

During the parliamentary debate, Franciska Rosenkilde, the political leader of The Alternative, questioned whether Denmark should take a stand against contributing weapon components to a country allegedly committing genocide against a civilian population.

In response to the extensive bombardments of Palestinians in Gaza by Israel, Rasmussen acknowledged the validity of such an assessment.

However, he argued that Denmark has already intervened by tightening its arms exports, and to his knowledge, no new export licenses have been granted since the intensification of the bombardments.

He reiterated that Denmark’s position on the F-35 program is consistent with other partner countries, none of which have adopted the decision called for in the citizen proposal.