Serbia’s Student List Plans to Halt Arms Trade and Israeli Drones
Serbia’s Student List, which won an outright majority in October’s parliamentary election, says its program would end arms trade with Israel and stop production of Israeli drones in the country.
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Filip Ubović, a representative of the movement, set out that position on a Novara Media podcast with British journalist Aaron Bastani, when asked how a future government in Belgrade would deal with Israel.
“What is happening there is a stain on humanity, and it is truly sad. Our program says we will stop arms trade with Israel,” Ubović said, referring to the war in Gaza, according to Anadolu Agency.
A Pledge Before Government Forms
The comments describe a political commitment, not an act of state. A new Serbian cabinet has not yet been formed after the Oct. 25 snap election, and no official decision has been announced to suspend arms deals with Israel or to stop work at a newly opened drone plant.
Ubović said former President Aleksandar Vučić had maintained close ties with Israel. He called the creation of an Israeli-linked drone factory in Serbia “unprecedented” and said the project had to be halted.
Anadolu reported that the movement’s foreign policy program also condemns Israeli military operations in Gaza and pledges increased humanitarian assistance to Palestinians.
Israeli Drones and Past Contracts
Vučić inaugurated the assembly factory in September, while still president, in a project linked to Israel’s Elbit Systems. The plant was presented as a site for assembling Israeli-designed drones in Serbia.
In November 2024, Elbit announced contracts worth about $335 million to supply a European customer with PULS rocket launchers and Hermes 900 unmanned aircraft. Serbia was later identified as the buyer, and the systems were displayed at a military parade in Belgrade in 2025, as Clash Report described in its account of that arsenal display.
Election Win, Ukraine Unresolved
The Student List, formed by students who protested corruption and Vučić’s long rule, won 140 of 250 seats in parliament and 2,354,417 votes, the Republic Electoral Commission said in its final results. That is an outright majority.
Vučić resigned the presidency on Sept. 27 so he could run in the parliamentary contest. His United Serbia list took 103 seats.
The movement has already rejected sanctions against Russia. Reuters earlier reported that Student List figures also wanted to end arms sales to countries at war, including exports that reach Ukraine through Western intermediaries, then removed that passage. A correction said leading members had not said whether a future government would halt such exports. The movement has not set an official position on weapons for Ukraine.
Kamer Kurunç
Kamer Kurunç is the Team Leader of Clash Report and has led the outlet for four years. He oversees its breaking world news coverage, from the Middle East and the Russia-Ukraine war to defense and global politics. His focus is fast, verified, source-based reporting. Follow him on X at @kamerknc.
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