Nicaragua files lawsuit against Germany at UN over arms sales to Israel
Berlin may face genocide charges
Nicaragua has filed a lawsuit with the International Court of Justice to stop the sale of German-made weapons to Israel. The case could become a legal precedent.
Berlin is accused of allegedly violating the UN conventions on the prevention of genocide by sending military equipment to Israel and cutting off funding to the UN aid agency.
In 2023, Germany accounted for about 30% of military equipment purchases for Israel totalling €300 million. This is ten times more than a year earlier.
Germany denies the charges against it and will present evidence in its defence at the International Court of Justice on Tuesday.
The charges are based on a separate case initiated by South Africa in January. Then the judges in The Hague ordered Israel to take "all possible measures" to avoid acts of genocide.
The court also ordered Hamas to immediately release hostages taken in Israel during a bloody attack on 7 October. At least 1,200 people were killed in one day by the militants who invaded from Gaza, thousands were wounded or severely tortured, and hundreds were taken hostage.
Israel has rejected accusations of genocide in its military campaign of retaliation and insists on its right to self-defence.
According to the Hamas-controlled Gaza Ministry of Health, more than 33,000 Palestinians, most of them civilians, have been killed in the enclave as a result of the Israeli offensive.
According to human rights activists, Gaza is also on the verge of starvation: according to Oxfam, 300,000 people have been consuming an average of 245 calories a day since January, about a tenth of the normal amount.
Israel insists that it is taking all measures to minimise civilian casualties and is not obstructing the delivery of humanitarian aid, which it says is being distributed in the enclave under Hamas control.
Nicaragua claims that Germany's arms sales to Jerusalem make it an accomplice to Israel's war crimes.
According to the DPA news agency, most of the sales were of components for air defence systems and communications equipment.
Germany has also suspended funding for the UN Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees (UNRWA) over allegations that agency staff were involved in the 7 October attack on Israel. Along with it, 14 other Western countries, including the United States, suspended their contributions.
Read more about this in the article "UN scandal: Israeli intelligence claims 190 UNRWA staff members took part in the attack on Israel".
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