Germany is facing charges at the top United Nations court for allegedly \u201cfacilitating the commission of genocide\u201d against Palestinians in Gaza in coordination with its military and political ally, Israel.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Nicaragua presented its case before the International Court of Justice (ICJ) on Monday, demanding judges impose emergency measures to stop Berlin from providing Israel with weapons and other assistance.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
In his opening statement, Carlos Jose Francisco Arguello Gomez, Nicaraguan Ambassador to The Netherlands and the lead of Nicaragua\u2019s delegation said \u201cserious breaches of international humanitarian law\u2026including genocide, are taking place in Palestine\u201d and are \u201cbeing committed openly.\u201d \u201cThe case before us involves momentous events affecting the lives and wellbeing of hundreds of thousands of people, and even the destruction of an entire people.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
In such a situation, he said that other states must avoid to take steps \u201cassisting the perpetrator.\u201d \u201cGermany has violated this obligation imposed on all states,\u201d Gomez said, adding that Germany has not be able \u201cto differentiate between self-defence and genocide\u201d in the case of Gaza.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cIf the actions of Israel continue to be unrestrained as they have since since its birth as a state, and they continue to receive the indiscriminate support of states like Germany, then a new generation of Palestinians will rise up again in the future,\u201d he warned.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Daniel Mueller, a lawyer for Nicaragua, also told the court that it is \u201ca pathetic excuse to the Palestinian children, women and men to provide humanitarian aid, including through airdrops, on the one hand and to furnish the military equipment that is used to kill and annihilate them\u2026 on the other hand.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Speaking to reporters after the ICJ hearing in The Hauge, German legal representative Tania von Uslar-Gleichen called Nicaragua\u2019s presentation \u201cbiased\u201d and said Germany looks forward to rebutting the charges tomorrow. \u201cNicaragua\u2019s presentation was grossly biased and we will be telling you tomorrow how we fully live up to our responsibilities,\u201d said Uslar-Gleichen.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
In a 43-page submission to the court, Nicaragua argues that Germany is in breach of the 1948 UN Genocide Convention, set up in the wake of the Holocaust. \u201cBy sending military equipment and now defunding UNRWA [UN agency for Palestinian refugees] \u2026 Germany is facilitating the commission of genocide,\u201d says the submission.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cGermany\u2019s failure is all the more reprehensible with respect to Israel given that Germany has a self-proclaimed privileged relationship with it, which would enable it to usefully influence its conduct,\u201d added Nicaragua.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Nicaragua asked the ICJ to decide \u201cprovisional measures\u201d \u2013 emergency orders imposed while the court considers the broader case. It is \u201cimperative and urgent\u201d the court orders such measures given that the lives of \u201chundreds of thousands of people\u201d are at stake, runs the Nicaraguan case.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The ICJ was set up to rule in disputes between nations and has become a key player in the war between Israel and Hamas that erupted after the October 7 attacks.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
In a separate case, South Africa has accused Israel of perpetrating genocide in the Gaza Strip, charges Israel vehemently denies. In that case, the court ordered Israel to do everything in its power to prevent genocidal acts and recently toughened its stance, ordering additional measures obliging Israel to step up access to humanitarian aid.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The court\u2019s rulings are binding but it lacks an enforcement mechanism \u2013 for example, it has ordered Russia to stop its invasion of Ukraine, to no avail.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Nicaragua has requested five provisional measures, including that Germany \u201cimmediately suspend its aid to Israel, in particular its military assistance, including military equipment.\u201d It also calls on the court to order Germany to \u201creverse its decision to suspend the funding of UNRWA.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Germany said in January it was halting funding pending an inquiry into Israeli accusations that several UNRWA staff members took part in the October 7 assault. Nicaragua said in its submission that \u201cit could be comprehensible\u201d that Germany would support an \u201cappropriate reaction\u201d by ally Israel to the October Hamas attacks.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The bloodiest-ever Gaza war began with Hamas\u2019s unprecedented October 7 attack on Israel that resulted in the deaths of 1,139 Israelis and foreigners, most of them civilians.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Israel has killed at least 33,175 people since then, including more than 13,800 children, according to Gaza\u2019s Ministry of Health.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
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