Nicaragua seeks to halt German arms exports to Israel

The Hague — Nicaragua asked the International Court of Justice on Monday to order Germany to halt military arms exports to Israel and to resume its funding of UN Palestinian refugee agency UNRWA, saying there was a serious risk of genocide in Gaza.

Nicaragua’s agent ambassador Carlos Jose Arguello Gomez told the court Berlin had violated the 1948 Genocide Convention by continuing to supply Israel with arms after ICJ judges ruled it was plausible that Israel violated some rights guaranteed under the genocide convention during its assault on Gaza.

“There can be no question that Germanywas well aware, and is well aware, of at least the serious risk of genocide being committed,” in the Gaza strip, Arguello Gomez said.

He told the judges that Berlin was ignoring its obligations under international law by continuing to provide military assistance to Israel. “This has got to stop,” Arguello Gomez said.

Israel has denied allegations of genocide and said it has the right to defend itself. The German government rejected Nicaragua’s allegations.

“Germany does not, and never did, violate the Genocide Convention nor international humanitarian law, neither directly nor indirectly,” Tania von Uslar-Gleichen, a legal adviser for the German foreign ministry told journalists at the ICJ.

Berlin will present its case in more detail in court on Tuesday.

Germany has been one of Israel’s staunchest allies since the October 7 attacks by Hamas militants which killed 1,200 people, according to Israeli tallies. It is one of the major arms exporters to Israel, sending €326.5m in military equipment and weapons in 2023, according to economy ministry data.

Since October 7, more than 33,000 Palestinians have been killed in Israel’s military offensive in Gaza, according to the health ministry in the Hamas-run enclave.

Nicaragua’s case at the ICJ, also known as the World Court, builds on a genocide case SA brought against Israel.

In January the ICJ ruled SA’s claims that Israel violated some rights guaranteed under the genocide convention during its assault on Gaza were plausible and ordered emergency measures, including a call for Israel to halt any potential acts of genocide.

Germany and the US are among major donors which suspended funding to UNRWA after allegations that about 12 of its tens of thousands of Palestinian employees were suspected of involvement in the October 7 attacks. The agency provides vital aid to Gaza, where many people are now on the brink of starvation.

Berlin has since resumed some funding to UNRWA’s regional work in Jordan, Lebanon, Syria and the West Bank, but not to their Gaza branch, a foreign ministry official told Reuters.

Reuters