Germany on Tuesday denied contributing to the Gaza genocide by selling weapons to Israel in a case brought by Nicaragua to the United Nations’ highest court, reflecting growing legal action in support of the Palestinians.
Germany has been one of Israel’s staunchest allies since the Oct. 7 attacks by Hamas militants and the retaliatory offensive. It is one of the largest arms suppliers, shipping military equipment and weapons worth 326.5 million euros in 2023, according to data from the Ministry of Economy.
Germany and other Western nations have faced street protests, multiple lawsuits and accusations of hypocrisy from groups that say Israel killed many Palestinian civilians during its six-month military assault.
But Tania von Uslar-Gleichen, legal adviser to the German Foreign Ministry, told judges at the International Court of Justice that Nicaragua’s case was rushed, based on weak evidence and should be dismissed for lack of jurisdiction.
German arms exports were carefully scrutinized to ensure compliance with international law, he said.
“Germany is doing everything it can to fulfill its responsibilities towards the Israeli and Palestinian people,” he added, with Germany being the largest donor of humanitarian aid to the Palestinians.
Von Uslar-Gleichen said Israel’s security is a priority for Germany because of the history of Nazi decimation of Jews during the Holocaust. “Germany has learned from its past, a past that includes responsibility for one of the most horrific crimes in human history, the Holocaust,” she said, using the Hebrew word.
A German lawyer, Christian Tams, told the court that as of October 7, 98 percent of arms exports to Israel were general equipment such as vests, helmets and binoculars. And of the four cases in which exports of weapons of war were authorized, he said, three were weapons not suitable for combat use, such as training ammunition.
Nicaraguan lawyers on Monday asked the ICJ, or World Court, to order Germany to suspend arms sales to Israel and to resume funding to the United Nations agency for Palestinian refugees, UNRWA.
They argued that Berlin had violated the 1948 Genocide Convention and international humanitarian law by continuing to supply Israel even though it knew there was a risk of genocide.
Israel claims its war is against murderous Hamas militants, not Palestinian civilians, and that it is the victim of defamation.
According to Israeli records, the Islamic group’s October 7 attacks killed 1,200 people. Since then, more than 33,000 Palestinians have been killed in Israel’s offensive on Gaza, according to the Health Ministry of the Hamas-ruled enclave.
The ICJ is expected to issue interim measures in Nicaragua’s case within weeks, but a final decision could take years and the court has no power to impose one.
Source: Terra
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