MIA SWART: No farewell to arms — how Germany profits from the war in Gaza

As the war on Gaza enters its seventh month the world’s attention has turned to the backers and facilitators of Israel’s deadly attacks.

The death toll in Gaza now exceeds 33,500, a figure not including bodies that are still under the rubble. Israel did not manage this grim achievement on its own. Apart from receiving military support from the US, it received more than $326m in military aid from Germany in 2023. Germany has long been Israel’s second largest suppliers of arms.

Last week Nicaragua took Germany to the International Court of Justice (ICJ), accusing it of facilitating Israel’s actions in Gaza. The country argues that by providing arms and other forms of support to Israel Germany is facilitating breaches of the Geneva Conventions. Nicaragua has asked the ICJ to order provisional measures that would urgently halt German arms exports to Israel.

Nicaragua accused Germany of failing to honour its own obligation to prevent genocide or to ensure respect of international humanitarian law. It further accused Germany of profiting from aiding Israel. German companies involved in the military industry are directly profiting from the Gaza conflict as they have seen their share prices rise since October 7.

In its defence Germany argues that the kinds of aid it provides are of a defensive nature. One of the lawyers for Germany argued that Germany cannot be violating the Genocide Convention since the ICJ has not yet found that Israel has committed genocide. In the case brought by SA in January the ICJ “merely” found that a plausible case of genocide exists.

Germany emphasised its historic responsibility to help Israel. But for all its technical prowess before the ICJ its legal team failed to convince. Legal commentators criticised Germany’s approach to the case for being unduly legalistic and pedantic. The few words of compassion that were expressed sounded inauthentic and hollow.

Over the weekend a number of human rights organisations, including the European Centre for Constitutional & Human Rights and the Palestinian Centre for Human Rights in Gaza filed a lawsuit seeking to suspend export licences issued by the German government for arms shipments to Israel. The organisations are bringing the suit on behalf of Palestinians whose family members have been killed in Gaza.

It is not just Germany that is coming under fire for its acts of complicity. Over recent weeks British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak has been under growing pressure to stop arms sales to Israel, which increased after three British aid workers were killed in the attack on the World Central Kitchen aid convoy. But Sunak rejected calls to suspend aid, and in the aftermath of the Iranian drone attack on Israel he again pledged his support for Israel.

To the detriment of Palestine, Iran’s first direct attack on Israel over the weekend provides a justification for Western powers such as the UK to continue to support Israel. Washington immediately reaffirmed its ironclad support, conveniently forgetting the atrocities in Gaza.

The Iranian attack could not come at a worse time for Palestine, just as the tide of Western public opinion was turning in its favour. Western powers were beginning to support a ceasefire in Gaza, but the Iranian attack has now fortified their support for Israel. It also fortifies the Israeli narrative that it is under existential threat.

Commentators have argued that the Iranian retaliation was precisely the result Israel intended when striking the Iranian consulate in Damascus on April 1, a strike that killed 11 people. Israel’s words are not matching its actions. Whereas it has stated that it does not want a wider regional escalation, it is in its interest to push for a wider escalation.

Leaders including UN secretary-general Antonio Guterres and UK foreign secretary David Cameron have urged Israel not to retaliate. But restraint might not suit Israel’s objectives in the region, which include diverting attention from the horrors of Gaza.

• Swart is a visiting professor at Wits Law School specialising in human rights, international relations and international law. She writes in her personal capacity.