Germany denied on Tuesday (9) that it was helping the genocide in Gaza by selling weapons to Israel in a case brought by Nicaragua to the UN's top 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 its biggest arms suppliers, shipping 326.5 million euros worth of military equipment and weapons 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 who claim Israel killed many Palestinian civilians in 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 scrutinized to ensure adherence to international law, she said.
“Germany is doing its utmost to fulfill its responsibility towards the Israeli and Palestinian people,” he added, with Germany being the largest single donor of humanitarian aid to the Palestinians.
Von Uslar-Gleichen said Israel's security is a priority for Germany because of the history of the Nazi decimation of Jews in the Holocaust. “Germany has learned from its past, a past that includes responsibility for one of the most horrific crimes in human history, the Shoah,” she said, using the Hebrew word.
A lawyer for Germany, Christian Tams, told the court that as of October 7, 98% of weapons 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 approved, he said, three were weapons unsuitable for use in combat, such as training ammunition.
On Monday, Nicaraguan lawyers asked the ICJ, or World Court, to order Germany to suspend arms sales to Israel and resume funding for the UN's Palestinian refugee agency, UNRWA.
They argued that Berlin 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.
The Islamist group's attacks on October 7 killed 1,200 people, according to Israeli records. More than 33,000 Palestinians have been killed in the Israeli offensive on Gaza since then, according to the Health Ministry in the Hamas-ruled enclave.
The ICJ is expected to issue provisional measures on Nicaragua's case within weeks, but a final ruling could take years and the court has no power to enforce it.
Source: CNN Brasil
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