the the, this is, you've got the news live and from berlin tonight, dealing in weapons, germany, restarts arms exports to saudi arabia. to prove the delivery of a $150.00 iris t guided missiles. and that's a major new term. berlin stopped weapons delivery several years ago. after the killing of journalist jamal ca shogi, how's it coming up tonight? ecuador sinks into crisis. the president's sales. his country is at war with drug games. after a wave of deadly violence, the storming of a tv station and the kidnapping of police officers. the

brink off is good to have you with us on this wednesday, and we begin with dealing in arms. the german government has authorize the export of missiles, the saudi arabia ending restrictions that were introduced 6 years ago. the sale of a 150 iris t air to air missiles to re odd is a major policy shift for transfer all life schultz is government. berlin halted arms exports to saudi arabia. after the discipline journalist jamal could show he was killed in the saw, the console within this temple, us intelligence, you may remember found that the soul, the crown prince mohammed, been seldman, had sanctioned his murder more missiles like these will soon be on their way to saudi arabia that's off the german government, scrapped a 5 year old ban on arms exports. but belin still seems undecided on allowing the saudis to get more jets defy them from. so you're a fighter is a part of the corporation between germany, italy, spain,

and the u. k. and saudi arabia already has dozens of them. when the current german government was formed, it said it would not approve the delivery of any more jets. the reason re adds war against who the rebels and yemen, and the brutal killing of saudi generalist jamal control g. but the conflict between israel and the mass has changed the calculus violin. now the saudi arabia as a partner, willing to stand up for stability with it in the middle east. ok? yes, i advise israel. know who's that? it's security also depends on stability in the region and saudi arabia based on everything we hear, i know and talk about wants to fill the role of stability, usually a 100 from starting to teach us fee on funding. the around back to tease have, by contrast, taking up the fight against israel, attacking shipping in the red sea,

and firing rockets towards these railing territory. johns, the shult seems to be backing the release of your a fight as the pulse of his s p d party and his green television partners are opposed. they say saudi arabia's human rights abuses means it would be a fatal mistake. green co leader because the lying said it would be wrong to let saudi arabia get more. your a fight as this is the fundamental position of our apology, and i still see it that way. a definitive green light for leasing the croft may be some way off, but with germany already using its own export ban, it seems clear a foreign policy shift is well underway. huntsville commission, there is the senior director at the n g o the counter extremism project. i asked him about his take on why germany is now in favor of sending missiles to saudi arabia. a look, this isn't being thrown policy shift. we have seen that saudi arabia in the last

couple of months has one entirely intercepted to see me solves lying to as well, they've seen, sorry, they're playing a fairly constructive role in trying to calm the tensions around because that conflict. so this is in my understanding, the reason for this policy should will saudi arabia having iris team missiles in its arsenal, will certainly not please iran and its allies and thinking about hezbollah in limbo . and i'm thinking about the booty rebels in yemen. what could be the fall welfare this is also a cause part of the response to iran, which has very deliberately racked up incrementally but racked up the pressure around. because that conflict on the one hand, even before the recent assets, nations of the how much and i spell a lead of you have a date today, increase of attacks biased for a whole, know that israel. and since the beginning of november, we have now with 2 days of massive attack $26.00 attacks on by that was these

against international shipping, which is developing by fast into an actual global economic problem. so, you know, there are signals, many strong signals needed towards iran to say, um that has to be a stop to this. and today's decision by the german government can also be seen partially as part of that response. that's also part why germany has agreed to be part of that international maritime force that is going to secure the rest. the us secretary said anthony blanchard, he commented earlier today on these attacks on these ships that are headed for is real. i want you to take a listen to what he said, and all i can tell you is that as we've made clear and many other countries banks, there will be consequences with these actions. we've also receded like tried to make 3rd or on as other countries have as well, that the supports that they're providing, including for these actions needs to stop. it's not in their interest to see the

complex escalated. and we're not the only ones who sent that message around and we're not the only ones in that message to iran. what are these consequences going to be though if the attacks continue? well, so far the international coalition of ships has simply restricted itself to shooting down whatever you struck them. and you know, a couple of hours ago. busy it was quite substantial among carrying drones, uh, cruise me size, as well as on the tank ship, mr. house. and then we had a couple of days ago as thinking of a couple of people so far. the quotation has not yet attack. who's the positions on the ground? can you hear me radar stations? we start launch sites. but if these attacks don't debate, don't with use or don't stop. i'm afraid this is going to be the logical next. there was hon. yup, chandler, the senior director of the engineer the counter extremism project. where earlier anthony blanket visited the west bank where he reaffirmed washington support for

the creation of a palestinian state leak and said that his thoughts would tell us any in president mike who the boss were productive and they focused on political reform. us once a reformed palestinian authority, the govern garza after israel's war with him oss abbas says that garza is an integral parts of palestinian territory. he is called for an international peace conference to use rebecca rivers in jerusalem told us more. the us suddenly pains to say that today's discussion was productive. anthony blinking saying again as he touch down and bell rang, the next stop on his middle is to a game reiterating that must have boss of allison in president was very open to the discussion. very open to the suggestions that the secretary had full the palestinian authority. now as we've been can, is he namely to push what the usa is as a potential, a post of gauze, a post conflict, the scenario. and that includes yes, as you mentioned,

steps towards palestinian statehood that 2 state solution. that means a palestinian states living side by side in his riley states. and they're also here to push what they see is a potential outcome of the palestinian authority would be a governing power would be a substantial leadership role in gone to the once the conflict comes to an end just whether or not they going to be able to we know if uh the as riley is on that matter of course remains to be say, based on sleep against the palestinian authority, having any leadership role in a post. how must will gauze and will come tonight. that was our rebecca rid of the reporting from jerusalem ecuador, as president, has declared war on drug gangs and mid spiraling violence. at least 10 people have been killed this week. soldiers are patrolling the streets of schools and shots are close to many big cities. unrest broke out with a state of emergency was declared over a drug lords,

prison escaped inmates or holding more than a 100 prison staff hostage. government also stormed a new station and held a journalist captive on live tv. yesterday, stephen dudley is co founder and co director of inside. that's a think tank in washington dc that investigate organized crime in the america. and so i asked him if ecuador is descending into an ar as well. that might be a slight exaggeration. certainly they are having extreme problems with criminal groups. a civil war would require some sort of politics behind this, but this mostly appears to be criminal in nature. in the decree that the president issued yesterday, he named 22 different criminal groups, which really gets you to the heart of the problem. this isn't just one group, they have to corral. these are 22 different groups. a number of them stand out above the others, but none the less, the problem will be there,

which is that they are an atomized series of criminal organizations. some of them with connections to international groups as well. so this is extremely complex, and mr. dudley explained was how have the drug cartels, how they gain so much power in ecuador? i mean, ecuador is not a main producer of cocaine. if that's the drug of choice we're talking about, or it's not a producer, but it sits next to the largest producer in the world. that producer is columbia, and it has been increasing its production over the last several years. simultaneously, places like europe and asia had become greater consumers. the code in so ecuador has become a greater transit, a point of transit in a much greater capacity than it was in the past. this is the source of much of the fighting and much of the growth of criminal gangs in ecuador, which by the way,

also got their start inside of prisons in ecuador. so this is, this is something that has the institutional failures built into it, but also economics connected to the international drug trade. yeah. and what do we know about these gang leaders that you say that the lucas of power or recruitment is the prisons. and what are these gang leaders? are they, are they more than just, you know, criminal drug trafficking funds? so yeah, well i mean, they're, they, they vary in nature. of course, many of them has been housed in prisons for the last several years. prisons have offered them a number of different possibilities. and i know it sounds strange to people's ears when, when someone says that, but in a way it's, it's kind of a place of respite, a place where you can organize a place where you can recruit a place where you can set up sort of systematic ways in which you can take action

and criminal activities outside of prison, which is exactly what these leaders have done. one of whom was the one who escaped the other day was a member of the probably the most powerful, one of the most powerful, if not the most powerful group in ecuador, currently called the tornadoes. and so these are, these are different types of, of, of criminal leaders and criminal organizations with intersections with international criminal groups that have given them increasing amounts of power. in some instances, fire power, knowledge, know how, you know, i other series of advantages that they didn't necessarily have uh, 5 years ago or so. you know, the argument is the, the drug supply would not be there. if we didn't have the drug demand, particularly in the united states, and in here in europe, that said, and knowing that the demand is not going to go down any time soon, does the government ecuador, in your opinion, do they have a strategy to regain control and to keep these cartels in check,

it was interesting to watch the presidential campaign play out over the last few months and, and initially all the candidates had very serious programs that were made to long term, you know, very much socially minded programs, you know, not very heavy handed, but as things have gotten more violent and in particular after the such a nation of one of their fellow presidential candidates last year, you know, everything got ratcheted up in terms of their rhetoric and in terms of their policies as well. we're seeing them now or seeing the, the new president, the fairly newly inaugurated president, no boil, go at this with a very heavy hand. and the problem is they don't have the foundation upon which they can fight this type of battle. so it's a, it's a long road they're facing. but, but the, but right now they, they are just scrambling just to sort of get their hands around the current

situation, which is, as you pointed out again at the onset spilled out of control. steven dudley, joining us from washington. we appreciate your time and your valuable insights tonight. thank you. thank as well, it is winter here in europe and people are leasing up their skates and taking to the ice, especially in buried in norway lakes. there has been transformed into a giant ice skating rink of the water freezes every year, but it's rarely taken up and safe enough to go ice skating. but this year it's a little different. we're gonna leave, you know, we're not, we're just gonna let you see these images for a 2nd and take it a good thing . all right, here is a recap of our top story. germany has resumed direct armed exports, saudi arabia, delivering iris t guided missiles. it's the 1st such sale since rolling band weapons deliveries

after the killing of journalists is jamal shogi. in 2018. you're watching dw, new years if you can't get why scanning, if not joining us right here. tomorrow it has to see you then the, the goldsmith and the not see in the late seventy's shlomo smiles. now make good stuff, bog, not the man who had to maintain him to use like to wagner was date, was it suicide? the evidence raised the stone? what really happened? january 27th on dw the sometimes gordon can't believe his eyes.