Germany on Tuesday defended itself on the Worldwide Court docket of Justice in opposition to accusations that its arms shipments to Israel had been furthering genocide in Gaza, arguing that a lot of the tools it has equipped since Oct. 7 was nonlethal and that it has additionally been one of many largest donors of humanitarian assist to the Palestinians.
On the U.N. courtroom in The Hague, legal professionals for Germany stated that the allegations introduced by Nicaragua had “no foundation actually or regulation” and rested on an evaluation of army conduct by Israel, which isn’t a celebration to the case.
“Germany firmly rejects Nicaragua’s accusations,” Tania von Uslar-Gleichen, an official at Germany’s Overseas Ministry and lead counsel within the case, informed the 15-judge bench, including that Nicaragua had “rushed this case to courtroom on the idea of flimsiest proof.”
On Monday, Nicaragua had argued that Germany was facilitating the fee of genocide in opposition to Palestinians in Gaza by offering Israel with army and monetary assist, and it requested for emergency measures ordering the German authorities to halt its assist. The courtroom is predicted to determine inside weeks whether or not to subject emergency measures.
The proceedings, which concluded Tuesday, had been the third time in current months that the U.N. courtroom grew to become a discussion board for nations to place strain on Israel and assist Palestinians.
Earlier this 12 months, the courtroom heard arguments by South Africa that Israel was committing genocide in Gaza and ordered the Israeli authorities to take steps to stop such atrocities. The courtroom has not dominated on whether or not genocide was actually happening, an allegation that Israel has strongly denied.
The newest case, introduced by a Nicaraguan authorities that itself has been extensively accused of repression and human rights violations, has positioned a highlight on Germany, Israel’s second-largest arms provider after the US. Germany’s management calls assist for Israel a “Staatsräson,” a nationwide purpose for existence, as a approach of atoning for the Holocaust.
However the mounting demise toll and humanitarian disaster in Gaza have led some German officers to ask whether or not that backing has gone too far.
Attorneys for Germany urged the courtroom to throw out the case. They argued that Germany has tried to steadiness the pursuits of each Israel and the Palestinians, and offered figures exhibiting that Berlin was among the many largest particular person donors to the U.N. and different companies that present humanitarian assist to Gaza.
“Germany has all the time been a powerful supporter of the rights of the Palestinian folks,” Ms. von Uslar-Gleichen stated. “That is, alongside Israel’s safety, the second precept that has guided Germany’s response to the Center East battle basically, and to its present escalation particularly.”
In 2023, Germany authorized arms exports to Israel valued at 326.5 million euros, or about $353.7 million, in accordance with figures revealed by the economics ministry. That’s roughly 10 instances the sum authorized the earlier 12 months.
Germany’s authorized crew argued on Tuesday that the majority of its exports had been nonlethal assist, resembling protecting gear, communications tools and protection tools in opposition to chemical hazards. Christian Tams, a lawyer for Germany, denied Nicaragua’s claims that Germany had elevated weapons provides to Israel for the reason that Oct. 7 Hamas assault, saying that since then “no artillery shells, no munitions had been licensed.”
“The image offered by Nicaragua is at greatest inaccurate, and at worst it’s a deliberate misrepresentation of the particular state of affairs,” he stated.
Whereas it was not doable to independently confirm the figures offered by Mr. Tams, they had been roughly consistent with these offered earlier this 12 months by the German authorities, in response to a query from a lawmaker, when it stated that solely about 6 % of its army exports to Israel had been for what it known as “weapons of warfare.”
Critics have stated that there’s little distinction between the forms of weapons offered to Israel whereas it’s at warfare. On Monday, Carlos Jose Arguello Gomez, Nicaragua’s ambassador to the Netherlands, informed the courtroom that “it doesn’t matter if an artillery shell is delivered straight from Germany to an Israeli tank shelling a hospital” or goes to replenish Israel’s stockpiles.
Pieter D. Wezeman, a senior researcher on the Stockholm Worldwide Peace Analysis Institute, which tracks international arms exports, stated the German place is consistent with typical arms exports to Israel.
“Whereas they don’t do the killing straight, they’re an important a part of the general system, the armed forces of a rustic, which truly make it doable to have interaction in warfare,” he stated.
Attorneys say that Germany is a better goal for a go well with than is the US, by far Israel’s most important army supporter. Germany has granted full jurisdiction to the Worldwide Court docket of Justice. However the US denies its jurisdiction, besides in circumstances the place Washington explicitly provides its consent.
