The International Court of Justice (ICJ), the highest court of the UN, refused this Tuesday to issue precautionary measures to stop the export of German weapons to Israel, thus rejecting the request of Nicaragua, which accuses Germany of alleged complicity in genocide in Gaza by the supply of weapons. “Based on the factual information and legal arguments presented by the parties, the court concludes that, for the time being, the circumstances are not such as to require the exercise of its power under article 41 of the statute to indicate provisional measures.” said Nawaf Salam, president of the ICJ.
Salam explained that the judges adopted this decision by 15 votes in favor and one against, and that the court, based in The Hague (Netherlands), remains "deeply concerned about the catastrophic living conditions of the Palestinians." The ICJ stressed that, according to Germany, 98% of the authorizations for arms exports granted since last October - the month in which the current war began - refer to other military equipment and not to weapons of war.
The German Foreign Ministry celebrated the resolution of the ICJ judges this Tuesday, although they did not agree to the German request to dismiss the case, which will therefore continue. According to Nicaragua, Germany would be violating the Genocide Convention, approved by the UN in 1948 and motivated by the Holocaust, since "by sending military equipment (...), Germany facilitates the commission of genocide," says the text of the demand. The ICJ's final ruling on the merits of the matter could take months or even years.
In any case, the judges of The Hague considered “especially important to remind all States” of their international obligations regarding the transfer of weapons to the parties involved in an armed conflict, to “avoid the risk that such weapons could be used” to violate the Geneva Convention or the Convention against Genocide. “All these obligations fall on Germany, as a State party to the conventions, in its supply of weapons to Israel,” the judges warned.
Germany is one of Israel's strongest allies since the Hamas terrorist attack of October 7 and the subsequent Israeli offensive against the Gaza Strip, which has claimed thousands of Palestinian lives, most of them civilians. According to the Ministry of Economy, Berlin will send war equipment worth 326.5 million euros to Israel in 2023, ten times more than the previous year, when it was 32 million euros. Furthermore, Germany is the largest single donor of humanitarian aid to the Palestinians.
A devastating war has been waged in the Gaza Strip between Israel and Hamas since October 7, 2023. The Hamas attack that day resulted in the death of 1,170 Israelis, most of them civilians, and the kidnapping of more than 250 people. , of which 129 are still held in Gaza and 34 have died, according to the official Israeli count. The Israeli military response has so far caused 33,207 deaths, mostly women and children, according to the Hamas-controlled Gaza Health Ministry.
Tania von Uslar-Gleichen, legal advisor to the German Foreign Ministry, had assured the ICJ on April 9 – the day of hearing for the German allegations – that arms exports were examined to ensure compliance with International Law. For his part, Nicaragua's lawyer, Alain Pellet, had told the court on April 8 – the day of the Nicaraguan allegations – that “Germany was and is fully aware of the risk that the weapons it delivered and continues to deliver to Israel” contribute to committing genocide.
This is the second genocide case before the ICJ in connection with the Gaza war. In late 2023, South Africa accused Israel of genocide against the Palestinian people and demanded a ceasefire. The UN court did not hear the demand, but did order Israel to allow more humanitarian aid and do everything possible to prevent acts of genocide. Recently the ICJ has raised the tone and demanded that Israel expand access to humanitarian aid.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's government says its war is against murderous Hamas militants, not Palestinian civilians, and that Israel is the victim of a global smear campaign.
