Germany stated that the nation has not participated in genocide by arming Israel with weaponry on Tuesday amid the country’s hearing with the International Court of Justice (ICJ) in a case that was originally brought to the ICJ by Nicaragua in March.
A Continued Case:
Germany’s representative to the ICJ, Tania von Uslar-Gleichen, claimed in the country’s defence on Tuesday that Nicaragua “rushed this case to court on the basis of the flimsiest evidence,” before further stating that the entire case should be dismissed due to a lack of jurisdiction.
One German lawyer, Christian Tams, told the ICJ that a great deal of the country’s military aid was in the form of general protective equipment for soldiers, including vests and helmets, not weapons of war.
Tams further stated that only four of the orders were weapons, before claiming that three of these orders were unsuitable for combat operations and were intended for training Israeli soldiers.
Tams continued, claiming that despite claims levied by Nicaragua that the German government has not done enough for civilians in Gaza, “Germany continues to provide humanitarian support (in Gaza) every single day.”
Von Uslar-Gleichen further stated that it was the duty of the German government to ensure the security of Israel due to the country’s history with the Holocaust, which led to the murder of an estimated six million Jews.
“Where Germany has provided support to Israel, including in the form of the export of arms and other military equipment, the quality and purposes of these supplies have been grossly distorted by Nicaragua.” She stated before continuing, “Germany has learned from its past, a past that includes the responsibility for one of the most horrific crimes in human history, the Shoah.”
Germany is one of Israel’s largest contributors to military equipment, having sold 326.5 million euros worth of military equipment to the Middle Eastern nation in 2023 alone. Furthermore, Germany cut all funding to the UN’s humanitarian mission to Gaza, the UNRWA, in January following claims that 12 employees belonging to the organization participated in the October 7th attacks, which left over a thousand dead and over 250 others kidnapped by Hamas.
Nicaragua has petitioned Germany through the ICJ to resume funding for the UNRWA as well as cease all arms exports to Israel.
Another Case Against Israel:
The case presented by Nicaragua follows another case by South Africa against Israel, which was filed in December and began in January. In this case, South Africa claimed that Israel has failed to “prevent genocide” and is “committing genocide in manifest violation of the Genocide Convention.”
The case further brought forward a number of crimes, with those “in question including killing Palestinians in Gaza, causing them serious bodily and mental harm, and inflicting on them conditions of life calculated to bring about their physical destruction.”
South Africa’s case totaled 84 pages, which go into detail about the ongoing conflict in Gaza, Israel’s supposed violations of international law, a history of UN and Human Rights Organization missions and inquiries into Gaza, Israeli attacks against religious, healthcare, cultural, and educational sites, what they claimed to be statements of genocidal intent by numerous Israeli officials, as well as the violations of specific articles of the Genocide Convention.
However, a number of nations spoke against South Africa’s court case, with US State Department Spokesman Matthew Miller referring to the case as “meritless, counterproductive, and completely without any basis in fact whatsoever.”
Following the first deliberations of South Africa’s court case, the ICJ demanded that Israel take measures in order to prevent a genocide in Gaza, later demanding that the nation arrange a number of humanitarian aid missions for civilians in Gaza. However, while the ICJ’s rulings are binding, the demands of the ICJ cannot be officially enforced, as the court has no legitimate means of enforcing its rulings. The bulk of its rulings rely on the political weight of the organization and the support of nations.
With this new filing against Israel, Nicaragua joins other nations in condemning Israel, some of which include Bolivia, Colombia, Brazil, Turkey, and a number of others.
Analysis:
If Germany’s claim that the majority of military exports to Israel were in the form of non-combat items is true, this will largely go against Nicaragua’s claims that Germany is providing “the military equipment that is used to kill and annihilate them (Palestinians),” as claimed by Nicaraguan ambassador Carlos Jose Arguello Gomez.
However, there remains a case regarding the demand for Germany to restart its funding to the UNRWA and provide further aid to civilians caught in the conflict in Gaza, as the claims that employees there collaborated in the October 7th attacks remain unconfirmed.
It is unclear when the case will end, as South Africa’s previous case against Israel is still in the process of being fulfilled. These cases may take months or years, depending on the complexity of the claims and the legal arguments that surround them.
