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 U.N. Palestinian refugee agency UNRWA, saying there is a serious risk of genocide in Gaza.
\nNicaragua\u2019s 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.
\n\u201cThere can be no question that Germany (\u2026)was well aware, and is well aware, of at least the serious risk of genocide being committed,\u201d in the Gaza strip, Arguello Gomez said.
\nHe told the judges that Berlin was ignoring its obligations under international law by continuing to provide military assistance to Israel.
\n\u201cThis has got to stop,\u201d Arguello Gomez said.
\nIsrael has denied allegations of genocide and said it has the right to defend itself.
\nThe German government rejected Nicaragua\u2019s allegations.
\n\u201cGermany does not, and never did, violate the Genocide Convention nor international humanitarian law, neither directly nor indirectly,\u201d Tania von Uslar-Gleichen, a legal advisor for the German Foreign Ministry told journalists at the ICJ.
\nBerlin will present its case in more detail in court on Tuesday.
\nGermany has been one of Israel\u2019s staunchest allies since the Oct. 7 attacks by Hamas militants which killed 1,200 people, according to Israeli tallies.
\nIt is also one of the major arms exporters to Israel, sending 326.5 million euros ($353.70 million) in military equipment and weapons in 2023, according to Economy Ministry data.
\nSince October 7, more than 33,000 Palestinians have been killed in Israel\u2019s military offensive in Gaza, according to the health ministry in the Hamas-run enclave.
\nNicaragua\u2019s case at the ICJ, also known as the World Court, builds on a genocide case South Africa brought against Israel.
\nIn January the ICJ ruled South Africa\u2019s 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.
\nGermany and the United States are among major donors which suspended funding to UNRWA after allegations that around 12 of its tens of thousands of Palestinian employees were suspected of involvement in the Oct. 7 attacks. The agency provides vital aid to Gaza, where many people are now on the brink of starvation.
\nBerlin has since resumed some funding to UNRWA\u2019s regional work in Jordan, Lebanon, Syria and the West Bank, but not to their Gaza branch, a foreign ministry official told Reuters.
\n($1 = 0.9231 euros)
\n(Reuters)arms exports. genocide risk, military arms exports, UNRWA funding<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Nicaragua has asked the International Court of Justice to order Germany to stop military arms exports to Israel and to resume funding for the U.N. Palestinian refugee agency UNRWA, citing a serious risk of genocide in Gaza. Germany denies the allegations and states it has not violated international law. Germany is a major arms exporter to Israel, sending 326.5 million euros in military equipment in 2023. Since October 7, over 33,000 Palestinians have been killed in Israel’s military offensive in Gaza. Germany has resumed some funding to UNRWA in certain regions, but not in Gaza.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":5,"featured_media":7385,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"Default","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[1521,589,122,1418,3503,1943,5286,1234,1902,4147,932,2369,4704,26,1606,304,145,895,607,316,5609,576,415,298,3272,210,2581,1235,608,187,4604,1837,299,3669,3755,582,412,3504,5610,5608,462,1812,4054,317,2907,2471,544,5611,1859,18,318],"class_list":["post-7384","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-other","tag-1521","tag-africa","tag-aid","tag-allegations","tag-arms","tag-assault","tag-assistance","tag-attacks","tag-bank","tag-berlin","tag-court","tag-data","tag-donors","tag-economy","tag-exports","tag-funding","tag-gaza","tag-gaza-strip","tag-genocide","tag-genocide-case","tag-genocide-risk","tag-germany","tag-government","tag-hamas","tag-hamas-militants","tag-health","tag-health-ministry","tag-humanitarian","tag-icj","tag-international","tag-international-law","tag-involvement","tag-israel","tag-jordan","tag-journalists","tag-justice","tag-lebanon","tag-military","tag-military-arms-exports","tag-nicaragua","tag-palestinians","tag-rights","tag-risk","tag-south-africa","tag-suspended","tag-syria","tag-united-states","tag-unrwa-funding","tag-west-bank","tag-world","tag-world-court"],"acf":{"keyphrase":"","keywords":"","sourceimg":"","country-category":""},"yoast_head":"\n